Early Embroidered Hot Pads Sell For $43,050
By Karl Pass - February 07, 2025
They went to local Chester County collectors who was thrilled to get them, said Leah Stevens of Briggs Auction Inc. On Dec. 6, the Garnet Valley, Pa., based auction house sold a framed grouping of four 18th century Chester County embroidered needlework hot pads/potholders for $43,050 (including buyers premium). In a gilt frame, measuring 15-by-12.25 inches, each was initialed and dated (1776) with foliate design. The pre-sale estimate was $200-$400. They were underbid by dealer Amy Finkel. Similar lozenge-shaped potholders are in the Winterthur collection. The 1976 A Winterthur Guide to American Needlework by Susan Burrows Swan discusses them as having been used as holders for silver teakettles. Illustrated in Margaret Schiffers Historical Needlework of Pennsylvania, published in 1958, they came to Briggs from a local estate. Other early needlework from the estate included a sampler with a poem and multiple stitch techniques selling for $20,910 (not pictured). Also sold were American redware, mechanical banks, and a George Cope oil-on-canvas painting ($2,952). For more information, call 610-566-3138.
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