Bidspirit auction | (AMERICA). AMERICAN SAMPLER with Biblical

(AMERICA). AMERICAN SAMPLER with Biblical / Jewish motifs. Worked in threads on a linen ground, features (see below) all within an undulating floral border. Some staining around the borders and light wear. Framed. 13 x 17 inches (33 x 43 cm). Early 19th-century.     Genealogical needlework in the form of samplers was a uniquely American form of feminine artistic expression in the 18th and early 19th century.     This sampler features a fine multi-story dwelling with many windows and four chimneys in the lower center, with the surnames Jean and Johnston atop. Cross-stitched golden trees at either side of the house begat a series of first-and-last name initials, each with a crown. The upper section of the sampler is dominated by a striking image of the biblical forefather Abraham next to the altar at which the Sacrifice of Isaac was to take place. Further upwards are two stitched depictions of 7-branched Temple Menorahs adorning the Ark of the Covenant. To the left of this is a tall ship with the legend “The Deana, ” possibly the name of the ship by which this family made its way to America. Beneath the Temple imagery and above the Abraham and Isaac depiction is a four line poem: “Abrm forber the angel cryed. Thy faith is known thy love is tried. Thy son shall live and in his seed. Shall the whole earth be blessd in deed.”     This is an extract from “Submission and Deliverance: Or, Abraham offering his Son, ” a hymn written by Isaac Watts (1674-1748), a minister of the Congregational church, whose contributions to English hymnody were vast. Watts’ Hymns and Spiritual Songs went through at least two dozen editions in the 18th century.     Although the Jean / Johnston family were certainly Christian, the sampler shows a side of Protestant, and particularly American, Christian religion in its emphasis on themes from the Hebrew Bible which stands in stark contrast to the lack of imagery, quotes, or references with explicitly Christian themes.