Miniature Watercolour Portrait on Ivory in Georgian Lacquer Frame, c. 1785

A fine watercolour portrait of a lady. Her dress suggests a date of around 1785. Unsigned but with the remnant of a signature or name of sitter to the back. Mounted in a late Georgian papier mâché frame with gilded brass bezel and oak leaf mount.

Until approximately 1760 the ivory sheets were about one millimetre thick. In the time when production was at its highest – from 1780 onwards – the sheets were thinner and had to be backed with paper to increase their stability. To avoid reducing the luminosity of the ivory in the transparently painted flesh parts, the adhesive was applied only to the edges, as is the case here.