(At center top): Wrought at / Warren / September / the 12 A D 1793 (At center lower third): Joanna Maxwell / Born May the 8 / AD 1782 at Warren / (Below): NOTE: This is an acrostic verse. The first letter of each line spells the makers name. Reading down on the R: JOANNA On the L: MAXWELL // Jesting vain and idle talk avoid / Over all thy ways let truth preside / Amidst thy blooming and morning days / Never forget thy maker to praise / Noble is that blessed grace within / Abounding goodness asscrib to him / Meek unadornd with tinsel lace face(?) / Attach to virtue and posset with gr(ace) / Xalt thy makers praise / Wisdom and truth ever be thy guide / Engage thy mind and humble thy / Lenity mercy posses thy mind (?) prid(e) / Last in speaking first to be kind.

Maker

Maxwell, Joanna (age 11)

Date made

1793

Origin

Warren RI US

In Bolton & Co.

No

Foundation Cloth

Linen

Embroidery Thread

Silk

Predominent Motif

1 alphabet: at bottom margin, ends with X. Large two story house with a woman on the L and a man on the R, both in colonial attire. A column on either side with a arcade across the top encases the scene. Two couples with children are on the lawn of the house, and another couple, woman on L man on R on the lawn with four vertical lines of alternating white and black sheep Urns with flowers rising to near the top. Flower sprays at top with a heart and two doves in center.

Inscription

(At center top): Wrought at / Warren / September / the 12 A D 1793 (At center lower third): Joanna Maxwell / Born May the 8 / AD 1782 at Warren / (Below): NOTE: This is an acrostic verse. The first letter of each line spells the makers name. Reading down on the R: JOANNA On the L: MAXWELL // Jesting vain and idle talk avoid / Over all thy ways let truth preside / Amidst thy blooming and morning days / Never forget thy maker to praise / Noble is that blessed grace within / Abounding goodness asscrib to him / Meek unadornd with tinsel lace face(?) / Attach to virtue and posset with gr(ace) / Xalt thy makers praise / Wisdom and truth ever be thy guide / Engage thy mind and humble thy / Lenity mercy posses thy mind (?) prid(e) / Last in speaking first to be kind.

Length Without Frame

16 3/4"

Length With Frame

19 1/4"

Width Without Frame

13 1/4"

Wdith With Frame

16"

Historical Owner

#B.2009.2 Gift of the Houston Junior Woman's Club (See Girlhood Embroidery by Betty Ring 1650-1850 Vol. 1 p. 189)

Owner

Museum of Fine Arts, Bayou Bend, Houston, TX