American & Southern | May 30, 2025
Fri, May 30, 2025 10:00AM EDT
Lot 1180
Charleston South Carolina Signed Needlework Sampler
Estimate: $2,000 - $4,000
Sold for
$9,000
Sold Price excludes BP
Bid Increments
| Price | Bid Increment |
|---|---|
| $0 | $25 |
| $100 | $50 |
| $1,000 | $100 |
| $2,000 | $200 |
| $3,000 | $250 |
| $5,000 | $500 |
| $10,000 | $1,000 |
| $20,000 | $2,000 |
| $50,000 | $5,000 |
| $100,000 | $10,000 |
circa 1820s, signed along bottom "Ann Deas Work", silk embroidery on silk, sight 23-1/4 x 16 in.; in likely later 19th century wood frame, approx. 19-1/4 x 22 x 1 in.
Provenance: Private Tennessee Collection
Note: According to consignor notes, Ann Horry Deas Lesesne (1812-1850), was a member of a prominent plantation owning and political family in South Carolina. Her father, a Scottish immigrant, served several terms in the South Carolina General Assembly before going on to serve as a senator for nearly ten years. He married Margaret Horry, and of their thirteen children, only nine would survive to adulthood. Ann, the youngest surviving daughter, likely wrought this sampler as a young girl, dating this piece to the early 1820s.
In addition to other decorative elements typical of samplers from her time, Ann's sampler includes a house in the iconic architectural style that can still be seen lining the streets of Charleston today -- a "single house" oriented with the gable, or shorter wall of the house, facing the street, with an adjacent piazza.
The sampler also includes several lines of religious verse with some words appearing to be missing, suggesting this piece was unfinished. The first several lines may have been composed by Ann herself, and read "Heaven [is?] our guard and innocents its care/[Nor need?] the just the worst of dangers [?]/It pitties [sic] the defenceless [sic] poor mans grief/And sends him [?] he calls helpe [sic] and [?]/Its [sic] [?] the surest succour [sic] and the best/Delivers and [?] the distressed"
The second verse appears to be a known motto and reads "When [love] and peace together dwell/They make a pallis [sic] of a cell/But where discord rears her head/Every [hope] of comforts [fled]"
Ann married Thomas Allen Lesesne in 1837 when she was 25 and subsequently moved to Mobile, Alabama to a cotton plantation owned by Lesesne. They had five children together before her early passing at the age of 38. Ann is buried in Mobile, Alabama.
A genealogy report and documentation on the family accompany this lot.
Available payment options
Purchased items will be available for pick up or shipping from our Asheville, North Carolina auction facility within ten business days of the auction, or will be assessed a storage fee of $5.00 per day, per item. Purchaser agrees that packing and shipping is done at the purchaser's risk and that the purchaser will pay in advance all packing expenses, materials, carrier fees and insurance charges. At our discretion, items will either be packed by an agent such as a packaging store or Brunk Auctions. Please allow two weeks for shipping after payment is received. Shipment of large items is the responsibility of the purchaser. We are happy to provide names of carriers and shippers if a purchaser so requests. Brunk Auctions will have no liability for any loss or damage to shipped items.
Private Tennessee Collection
losses to silk embroidery, some possibly as made, scattered losses to backing, sewn repair beneath central motif affecting word "peace", fading commensurate with age and display, not examined out of frame; old insect damage to bottom of proper right corner of frame, rebacked and refinished Note - Brunk Auctions makes every effort to offer accurate and thorough information, but encourages prospective bidders to inspect items in person whenever possible. Condition statements are provided as a courtesy for general guidance and should not be considered complete or definitive. They do not represent a warranty or assumption of liability by Brunk Auctions. Certain condition issues may not be specifically noted in the report but may be visible in the accompanying photographs, which are considered part of the overall condition report. Please refer to our Terms of Sale for complete information and contact us for additional photos or information as needed.
