Casgliadau Arlein

CANVAS, embroidered with coloured wools and black silk in tent, cross and satin stitches. At the top is the following verse: "In the cold Grave this Frame must rest And Worms shall feed on this poor Breast These Hands shall then be Useless grown And I alas no more be known No more these feet shall ever walk No more this Tongue shall ever talk." In the middle, within an oblong compartment, is the inscription: "Anne Thomas / Sampler Worked in / her 18th year 1863". Above the inscription is a bowl of flowers, beneath it Adam and Eve and Tree. The remaining space is filled with conventional trees, flowering plants in pots, flowers, birds, butterflies, stags and crowns, all symmetrically arranged in pairs. There is a border of a wavy stem with strawberries. (Source: Guide to the Collection of Samplers & Embroideries (Cardiff: National Museum of Wales, 1939) by F.G. Payne).