Janet Dunlop Begbie. 1808. Edinburgh.
Janet Begbie was born in Edinburgh Parish, Edinbnrgh, Midlothian, on 14th November 1797
the daughter of William Begbie and Martha Gibb Like many Scottish samplers it provides
us with quite a lot of family information.
Worked in the year 1808 when she was eleven years old, we see that through the Scottish custom
of using black threads for the initials and names of the deceased, that her father was by this time dead.
A fourth name Jean Mack, appears in a small cartouche, opposite her own name. This is possibly
the maiden name of her maternal grandmother, as records show that a Jean Mack was christened
in the same parish in 1722.
Worked with coloured silks on cream wool the eye is drawn to a double fronted house worked
with a well dressed pair of figures on either side. Towards the top of the sampler is a broad band
of flower heads with twisted split stems framing each bloom, a feature seen frequently on Scottish
samplers. An attractive border of stylised flower heads frames the whole. Satin, split and cross stitch.
Framed Size. 15 x 18. 39 cm. x 46 cm.
