AMERICAN, POSSIBLY SOUTHERN, EARLY 19TH CENTURY

The scene depicted in this needlework appears to be the Southern United States, or perhaps one of the islands of the Carribean. Though the lot illustrated here does not correspond to any known examples of southern schoolgirl needlework, it may be a rare survival from a schoolgirl working in Charleston, South Carolina or another southern city. The artist Samuel Folwell, known for his work painting the faces and hands of schoolgirl needleworks in Philadelphia, also advertised his services in Charleston. However, published prints served as source material for many such needlework pictures, and prints depicting life on the islands were popular and available during the period. The present picture could well have been worked farther north from such a print source.