A miniature like this would have been a love token. The braid of hair has a great deal of intimacy and personal significance for whomever would have owned this miniature. |
If moisture gets in under the glass (covering), it can completely ruin the painting. They also do fade like a watercolor on paper. |
It was a remarkable collection even then. |
We've been collecting portrait miniatures for some time. Although we had a few handfuls of examples before 1980, we began collecting in a more serious fashion about then. |