A rare cross-stitched sampler, made by a child at the Ashley Down Orphanage in Bristol in 1902 sold for £3,800 (all figures exclude buyer’s premium) in Tennants Auctioneers Fashion, Costume and Textiles Sale on 24th May. Intricately stitched with motifs including a cow, a cat, an umbrella, a mouse and a sailing boat, the sampler is worked with the names Alice, Lily and Florence.
Ashley Down House was an extraordinary institution. At a time when there were very few orphanages, George Müller (b. Prussia 1805), a Christian preacher, built a vast orphanage that would care for over 10,000 children in his lifetime. Müller, a reformed ne’er-do-well, never asked any individuals or organisations for donations, instead he put his faith in the power of prayer, and donations flooded in. It is estimated that he received nearly £1.5m in donations (approximately £80m in today’s money). Müller gave his charges an education well beyond what was expected at the time and made sure they had an apprenticeship, a trade or a good household position to go to before they left. Sewing was a vital skill taught at Ashley Down, and the Bristol and District Teachers Association created the Needlework Scheme, a comprehensive education in the skills that would render the girls employable. Samplers were produced as examples of their abilities, to show potential employers. They followed a model sampler, with red cotton on linen, working the alphabet in different fonts at the top and personalising the bottom with motifs of their own.
Lively bidding was seen for antique textiles in the sale, with a Pair of Early 20th Century Suzani Style Woven Cushion Covers selling for £800, a 17th Century Forehead Cloth selling for £650, and a Late 19th Century Crewel Work Curtain from Dutton Manor, Lancashire selling for £600. Selling well above estimate, too, was a Circa 1900 Carved Fan with a Brussels Lace Mount, which sold for £600.
Amongst the period, vintage and contemporary designer fashion in the sale was a good Private Collection of Vivenne Westwood costume, featuring designs from her iconic 1995 ‘Vive La Cocotte’ and 1994 Café Society collections. The vendor was a punk in her youth and had long loved the infamous 430 Kings Road shop in London, established by Vivienne Westwood and Malcolm McLaren in 1971 to showcase their ‘clothes without rules’. Following the relocation of the Vivienne Westwood shop in Manchester following the 1996 IRA bombing, the designer sent up runway pieces from her studio, where the vendor picked up some fabulous pieces. Starring in the sale was the Tartan Experience Jacket and Skirt from the ‘Vive La Cocotte’ Collection (sold for £1,300), and a London Harris Tweed Jacket and Waistcoat from the same collection (sold for £1,300).
Further notable results were achieved for a group of 18th and 19th Century Silk Bodices, which included an example possibly made by Anna Maria Garthwaite of Spitalfields in the 1740s (sold for £500), and a good group of 1960s and 1970s Suits and Evening Wear, including several suits by the legendary Hardie Amies (sold for £500).
The sale achieved a total hammer price of £51,195 with a 91% sold rate for 248 lots.
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