Humming Birds described and illustrated with an introductory sketch of their Structure, Plumage, Haunts, Habits, etc. H G Adams London Groombridge and Sons 1862
8 Fine hand coloured engraved plates
An Austrian cold-painted bronze table lamp, in the manner of Franz Bergmann (1861 -1936), Vienna; retailed by B. Altman & Co., late 19th/early 20th century
stamped B. Altman & Co. New York
height 15 in., width of base 6 in.
Sotheby's
An Austrian cold-painted bronze and figural lamp by Franz Bergman, Vienna, circa 1910
bearing an impressed B amphora mark
height 17.5 in., width 8 in.
Sotheby's
Bear figure and spill holder
ca. 1850–75
Possibly Parker Pottery Pennsylvania
The Metropolitan
Shaker sampler
1844
Mariah Boil American
Few samplers were made in Shaker communities. This example is a sweet and simple piece of work, finely made and laid out in a clear composition. It illustrates the well-known Shaker mission to produce architecture and decorative arts that were functional but beautiful and that depended on the bare essentials of form for their decorative appeal.
The Metropolitan
Sampler with geometric patterns, lettering, and various motifs
mid-17th century
Dutch
This Dutch sampler is an of example a practical working document, with various small patterns and motifs scattered across the surface of the cloth in different orientations making the best use of the available space on the foundation fabric. Apparently the women of Marken Island kept their samplers in or near their kitchens for handy reference. This practice has caused the samplers from this area to be discolored from exposure to the fumes and residue from cooking fires.
The Metropolitan
Sampler with apocalyptic verse
1827
Ann McFarlan American
This delightfully original sampler, with borders illustrating buildings and trees, reveals the visual influences and religious concerns of the part of New York State where McFarlan grew up in the 1820s. The sampler's composition and simple blue-and-white palette resemble the popular woven coverlets made by New York State weavers between 1820 and 1850. Typically, the coverlets were made of indigo-dyed dark blue wool and natural cotton and often had borders decoarted with repeating patterns of village houses. But the buildings pictured on this sampler have a meaning beyond a young girl's imitation of the designs found on a common bed covering. The Bible verse stitched in the lower left-hand corner speaks of the time after Judgment Day when redeemed souls will rise from the dead and "soar to the blest mansions." Perhaps the houses and church embroidered here are those heavenly abodes. Upstate New York was a center for religious revivalism in the first half of the nineteenth century; the imminent approach of the millennium was one of the beliefs central to many of the evangelical Christian groups that settled there. McFarlan both practiced her stitching and voiced her religious convictions in this unusual sampler.
The Metropolitan