Fine Rococo Portrait Miniature in a Gold Setting with garnets, ca. 1760 & Later

At the center of this brooch, which we discovered in London, is a delicately painted portrait of a young lady. Her head, turned slightly to one side; her loosely gathered hairstyle with a few strands falling across her forehead; her low-cut, ruffled dress in delicate shades of rose; and the pearl necklace draped closely around her neck all reflect the elegant fashion of the Rococo period. The subdued colour palette, the softly dabbed background, and the powdery rendering of the skin also point to the years shortly after the mid-18th century. Similar portrait miniatures can be found, for example, at the Victoria & Albert Museum in London, see here, as well as at the Nelson-Atkins Museum in Kansas City, see here. Miniatures such as these were created as mementos or gifts of friendship. Long before the invention of photography, portrait painting was the only medium capable of preserving a person’s presence in a vicarious capacity. The intimate effect of the miniature portrait stems precisely from its small size: Unlike large-format, representational paintings, miniatures were intended for close viewing and a personal perspective. The subject, who is unknown to us today, appears in her portrait not in courtly splendour, but with an idealized naturalness that the Rococo style particularly cultivated. In the second half of the 19th century, the portrait was set in its current form using nine-karat gold and garnets; since the Rococo style went through several phases, it is impossible to say exactly when. Garnets were also used to frame miniatures in the 18th century, though at that time they were mostly cut in table cuts. Here, a simple wreath of deep-red garnets in rose cuts surrounds the miniature. The deep red of the garnets provides a striking contrast to the powdery shades of pink, white, and gray in the painting. The piece of jewellery thus unites two different time periods—transforming a private 18th-century portrait into a nostalgic memento of the Victorian era.

Estimate:£1,350.59

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