Catalog (61)

A truly lovely and engaging portrait miniature, on natural wafer, of a beautiful young woman. The subject, attired in a green velvet dress with a black cape and a white fichu, is seated in front of an orange drapery with a view of a landscape. The framing of this gem is of fine construction, with an inner gold plated frame that is easily removable (and replaced) if a smaller overall size is desired. Both frames are in very fine order.

The condition of the painting is excellent, with bright col...

A very fine miniature of a young lady, done in watercolor on organic wafer. Signed lower right "Becker Px". The sitter is a wearing a gown with elaborate bows along the neckline and sleeves, and a pink sash. The glassless gilded wood frame is original to the painting.

There is a good amount of information on the back, some of which is missing or hard to make out. However, what can be determined is that this is a portrait of Julie von Haller, who was a member of the court of the Homburg Landg...

A c1795 continental miniature of a gent who looks somewhat disgruntled, possibly with the waistcoat with blue polka dots and the black jacket with pearl buttons that his wife picked out for him. The reverse of the painting has a "B" embroidered on pink silk fabric. Both the front and back have beveled glass. The diameter of the gilt metal case is 2".

A signed Hyacinthe Mercier miniature portrait, painted on natural wafer. The beautifully rendered sitter is a pleasant looking woman wearing a lace bonnet with lavender and light blue bows, and a dark blue robe or gown. "Mercier 1824" in script along the right side.

The painting is in excellent condition, with some rough edges which do not show while the piece is in its period bronze frame. Sight size is 2 3/8" by 1 7/8", with a frame size of 2 3/4" by 2 1/4".

BIOGRAPHICAL NOTE: Mlle Hy...

A strong oil on wood portrait of a gentleman sporting a long ponytail, and wearing a large black hat, a ruffled white shirt, a brownish-gray jacket. Cleverly executed to look like the painting is oval and in a mat, in actuality the entire surface is painted and is not a mat.

The condition of this work is excellent, with no issues or restoration. The frame, which is modern, nicely complements this work sight size is 6 1/2" by 4 1/2", with the framed size being 8 3/4" by 7".

A striking miniature portrait by Johann Christian Schoeller. The sitter is a girl child, dressed in purple, with a basket of flowers on her lap and posed in front of a window showing a landscape. Charming and colorful, this is an fine example of Schoeller's work. Presented in a period bronze frame, with an overall size of 3" by 2". The reverse has a label and a backing paper with the artist's name. Excellent condition.

BIOGRAPHICAL NOTE: Schoeller (1752 - 1851) was born in Alsace, traine...

A very interesting portrait miniature of a gentleman. Done in watercolor on organic material, it shows a half length naive depiction of a man posed with his hand in his waistcoat. The overall "feel" of this work is that it was done in the en grisaille style, in spite of the color in the man's lips, his vest, and cummerbund.

Condition of the painting and simple metal frame is excellent (light areas at the edges are due to reflections off the chamfered glass), with a size of 2 1/4" by 1 3/4".

A nicely painted portrait miniature, on natural wafer, of a woman with an elaborate hair style and wearing a gold gown with a white fichu.

The painting and the gilt metal case are in excellent condition. Sight size is 1 5/8" by 1 1/4", and the case size is 2 1/4" by 1 1/2".

A miniature portrait, done in watercolor and gouache on organic wafer, of a young man, well portrayed by the artist to capture his power and possible arrogance. The hazel-eyed sitter is shown in a casual pose, wearing a dark jacket and white ascot.

The condition is excellent, with no cracks, bowing, or paint loss. Presented in a cast bronze frame without glazing the sight size is 2 1/8" by 1 5/8", with an overall size of 4 1/2" by 3".

A charming miniature portrait, done in watercolor on natural wafer, and mounted in a later 14K gold ring with an impressed maker's mark of "MP". The sitter is a young red-haired child, facing left, and wearing a black dress with a dotted lace ruffled collar.

The ring size is 6 1/2, and the portrait measures 1 1/16" by 7/8". The condition of the portrait, as well as the ring, is excellent. The line near the left edge and along the top edge is due to refraction and does not appear when viewed in...

An interesting painting of a rather ruddy-faced gent, in a dark jacket with a striped yellow waistcoat, holding a book at the bottom center. The reverse of the case has blue and yellow striped fabric and a lock of hair, all under beveled glass which has worn reverse painted gilding. The gilded metal case is 2" by 1 7/8".

A fine watercolor on vellum painting of an aristocratic woman. The sitter, a blue-eyed blonde powder haired woman who is coquettishly toying with a long lock of her hair, is gloriously decked out in a very low cut white gown with a red shawl. The gown is partially held up by a long strand of diamond and gold jewelry with a matching bracelet on her left arm. Farther up that arm the sleeve of the gown is cinched by a diamond and pearl brooch. A pearl bracelet circles her right arm.

A label on p...

A charming c1820 Austro-Hungarian portrait miniature of Crescence Gräfin von Seilern und Aspangan, an attractive young woman with blue eyes and a high style mass of dark brown curls. Wearing a white gown and fichu, pearl earrings and a thin gold chain necklace, she is posed against a multi-colored sky above green foliage and rolling gray hills in the background. Presented in a period ebonized frame.

The painting, on natural wafer, is in excellent condition, with no issues. The apparent ga...

A beautiful pair of miniature portraits, both signed Fuger, painted in watercolors on organic material. In addition, the elaborate frames are made out of this same natural material, something rarely, if ever, seen. The sitters, in 18th century attire, are a young gent and lady posed against a blue sky with foliage and hills behind them.

Notes on the backs of the frames provide the following information: "These miniatures were bought by Ellen Franklin in antique shop Bellagio Italy in 1929. ???...

Considering all the feathers and foliage, I wouldn't be surprised if there were a bird actually living in the mass of ostrich feathers, flowers, and upswept hair of the blue-eyed sitter. This late 18th century miniature is in excellent condition and is presented in a 1 5/8" by 1 3/8" gold bracelet clasp.

BIOGRAPHICAL NOTE: Francisca Efigenia Meléndez y Durazzo, sometimes given as Francisca Meléndez de Múquiz (1770–1825) was a Spanish miniaturist and pastellist. She was the daughter of J...

A charming portrait miniature that can be strongly attributed to the highly thought of artist Francois Dumont (1751-1831). The sitter is an attractive young woman wearing a white dress tied over a blue shirt that is accented by the blue ribbon in her hair. The overall diameter of the fabric-backed brass frame is 2 1/8".

A very similar work by Dumont is coming up at a European auction house in December 2022, with an estimate of 1500 Euro, not including premium.

Provenance: From an...

A finely limned painting, done in watercolor on natural wafer, and attributed to Francois Ferriere. The sitter is a woman dressed in a white gown with a ruffled collar and shown against a grayish blue background.

The frame is period and the painting is mounted so that the backing paper is under glass and visible on the reverse of the frame, displaying the following identification "Ann Moffat died 20th May 1805 aged 32 years". It also misattributes the painting as being done by a French ...

A portrait miniature, on natural wafer, of a young woman with a mien that might be described as a remembrance of things past. The sitter is wearing a mauve gown, a white fichu, and a tortoiseshell comb in her hair.

  The painting is in a 4 1/2" by 4 1/2" ebonized wood frame with a bronze liner, with a sight size diameter of 2 1/4". Both the frame and the painting are in excellent condition.