Catalog (115)

A strong watercolor miniature portrait on organic wafer done by Simon Jacques Rochard. The subject of the painting, a distinguished gentleman wearing a white vest, shirt, stock, and a black coat with The French Legion Of Honour medal. He is posed in front of a white column, with some foliage to the viewer's left.

Along the right side of the painting, Rochard has signed "Rochard Spa 1815". Clearly this was done at the same time he had been summoned there by royalty (see Note 3, below). Housed ...

A strong watercolor on organic wafer portrait of a British staff officer. With his mutton-chop whiskers, he is dressed in the well-known red jacket, and sports gold epaulettes. The painting is housed in a wonderful gilt bronze brooch with a guilloche silver back, which displays a nicely tied curl of hair under a glazed aperture.

Sight size is 1 1/2" by 1 1/4", with an overall size of 1 3/4" by 1 1/2". The condition of the painting and the case is excellent, with no issues at all. The white fle...

A pair of watercolor on natural wafer paintings of a nice looking couple, set against a clouded blue background, a motif often used by the artist. Each miniature is signed, in the lower right, with the conjoined initials HB, for Henry Jacob Burch. The paintings are set in period ebonized wood frames.

Condition of the paintings and frames is excellent. Sight size of each is 2 3/4" by 2 3/16", and the framed size is 5 1/8" by 4 3/8".

BIOGRAPHICAL NOTE: Henry Jacob Burch was born in London in 1...

An absolutely charming and well painted portrait of Lady Clementina Villiers, done by George Lethbridge Saunders on natural wafer. Clementina, with blue eyes and golden-brown sausage curls, is posed in a classic white gown with a red shawl, holding a dove in her lap. The background features a blue sky and a tree.

Condition is excellent, with strong colors and no cracks, chips, paint loss, bowing, or restoration. The wood frame is also in excellent condition. Sight size is 3 1/2" by 2 7/8", wit...

A very fine bust-length depiction done in watercolor on organic wafer. The sitter, a nice looking young gentleman, is attired in a blue waistcoat, a tan and red pin-striped vest, and a white cravat. The painting is signed "Peat" at the left edge, and an old inscribed label attached verso identifies sitter as "Lord Halifax II". This attribution of the sitter must be incorrect as the dating of any Halifax lords is inconsistent and much later than when the painting was done.Housed under glass in a...

A strong watercolor portrait, on natural material, of Mrs. James Pattenden (nee Weston) in a white dress with lace collar, gold necklace, hoop earrings, a brooch at the bodice, and a pearl comb in her upswept hair. Signed and dated 1817 on the reverse, and housed in a gold locket.

The condition of this work is excellent, with no issues at all. The newer locket is also without flaws. The case size is 3 1/8" by 2 1/2".

NOTES: 1. James Pattenden married Jane Weston on February 16, 1819 at B...

A fine watercolor on natural wafer, done by Simon Jacques Rochard. The sitter, a rather sexy looking young woman with blue eyes is wearing a decollete black dress with a bow at the bodice, a white underslip, gold necklaces, and a black lace veil in her reddish-brown ringletted hair. This work is an excellent example typifying the "Romantic" genre popular at the time it was painted.

The condition is excellent, with no flaws to speak of, as is the condition of the later gold case. The sight size...

A beautifully painted portrait miniature by William Naish, done in watercolor on natural wafer. The sitter is a nice-looking gentleman with brown eyes and powdered hair with a pigtail. He is attired in a blue jacket, a white ruffled shirt, an elaborately tied white scarf, all highlighted with a slash of brilliant red. The case is copper, of very high quality, of the type with side pins holding together the front and back. The reverse of the case has a glazed aperture containing a plait of hair.

A wonderful English watercolor miniature on natural wafer, painted by Ozias Humphry. The gentleman depicted is clearly of the upper class, dressed in a dusty rose colored jacket with a lace collar, a style worn in England specifically in the 1765 to 1770 period. The case, which is probably original and of gold, comes with a 28" long gold chain attached through the bale, and is also most likely to be original.

The condition of the painting is excellent, with no flaws to speak of, and no restora...

A watercolor on organic wafer, painted by John Smart, and initialed lower left, along with the date of 1797. The sitter is a young woman with brown curls and eyes. She is attired in a green and blue feathered cap, a white gown with lace on the collar, and a green sash.

The brushwork is impeccable, the texture and blush of the skin, the details of the eyes, the clarity of each hair, and the overall luminescence of this painting are stunning. Even when compared to the vast majority of Sma...

A watercolor on natural material done by Nathaniel Plimer. The sitter is a somewhat older woman, with a pensive and somewhat sad mien about her. Set against a background with gradations of blue, she is simply dressed in a white gown and bonnet, accented with a pendant medallion on a black ribbon, and a gray belt.

The painting and the original bronze frame are in excellent condition with no flaws or restoration. Sight size of the miniature is 2 3/4" by 2 1/4", with an overall size of 3 3/4" by ...

A superb enamel on copper portrait miniature by Jean Andre Rouquet. The sitter, dressed in an embroidered red jacket, ia a royal personage, evidenced by the ermine trimmed robe or cloak on his lap.

The condition of the miniature is excellent, with bright colors, no cracks, and no restoration. The duller areas along the edges are due to the way the light reflects off the curved edges. The early 19th century ormolu frame also is in fine condition. Sight size of the painting is 2 1/4" by 1 7/8", ...

A finely limned miniature portrait painting by Andrew Plimer. The sitter, a beautiful young woman with dark hair and blue eyes, is wearing a high-necked white dress, a pearl necklace and a pearl barette. She is posed against a cloud filled blue sky. The glazed elaborate reverse has a lock of dark brown hair set with a gilt crescent moon, and a blue enamel plaque set with the initials "GP" picked out with pearls, all against foil backed opalescent glass.

The case is in very good condition, wit...

A nicely painted and early miniature portrait of a man done in watercolor on natural organic material. The blue-eyed sitter is a nice-looking gentleman fashionably attired in a full, long wig, a blue loose fitting robe, and white ruffled shirt.

One of the interesting things about this piece is that the original gold case is of a type known as a "slide case". The top protuberance is attached to a small sheet of metal (in this case gold), and when a little knob is pushed, the sheet can slide com...

This beautiful miniature portrait, painted in watercolor on natural material, is signed "SH 1786" on the right center of the painting, and also on the reverse as "Sophia Howell 1786". The sitter, a woman wearing a white gown with a lace-edged black overpiece, and holding a salmon colored muff, is posed in front of a blue drape and a stone column and plinth.

The artistic quality of this work is evident in so many ways, from the colors and textures in the drapery, to the painting of the hair, t...

A charming and beautifully rendered double portrait miniature attributed to Nathaniel Plimer. Executed in watercolors on natural wafer, he depicted, in classical style, an attractive young woman dressed in a low cut white gown with a reddish robe draped around her. The very young and strikingly angelic child, with fulsome red curls, has its arms clasped around the mother's neck.

This appealing gem is in excellent condition, with no flaws. The case is 3 1/4" by 2 3/4".

This miniature was sold...

A fine miniature portrait painting done in watercolor on organic material. The young boy, wearing a black hat, white coat, and coral sash, is posed against a background of a blue sky and a tree. The artist has cleverly painted the tree branch to arc over the boy's head, creating a natural framing effect and drawing the eye to the center of the work.

The painting is in excellent condition, with no flaws, and is housed in its original silver case, which measures 1 7/8" by 1 5/8".

A miniature painting, watercolor on natural wafer, by Mary Ann Knight. The sitter is a young woman with long hair clad in a white dress with low decolletage, posed against a background of trees and a blue sky.

The painting is in excellent condition with no issues. Sight size is 2 9/16" by 2 1/8". The gold pendant case is 2 3/4" by 2 3/8".

NOTE: Mary Ann Knight (1776 - 1851) was born in London and began painting miniatures around 1802. She was a pupil of Andrew Plimer, who then married Mary A...