Miniature
1755 (made)
Artist/Maker | |
Place of origin |
Gervase Spencer was formerly a gentleman's servant. He taught himself to paint miniatures in watercolour, working on the newly fashionable support of ivory. He later also painted miniatures in enamel.
In the 17th century, new techniques of painting enamels allowed delicate portraits resembling tiny oil paintings to be created. These enamel miniatures were first fashionable in continental Europe, but were particularly in vogue in Britain from the 1720s to 1760s. Painted enamels were made by firing finely milled glass which had been coloured with metal oxides onto a metal base, usually gold or copper. The colours had to be applied and fired in several stages, according to the firing temperature required by each colour. Incredible precision was needed for a successful enamel portrait, since each firing carried risks of cracks and bubbles that might ruin the entire effort.
Sir Arthur Gilbert and his wife Rosalinde formed one of the world's great decorative art collections, including silver, mosaics, enamelled portrait miniatures and gold boxes. Arthur Gilbert donated his extraordinary collection to Britain in 1996.
In the 17th century, new techniques of painting enamels allowed delicate portraits resembling tiny oil paintings to be created. These enamel miniatures were first fashionable in continental Europe, but were particularly in vogue in Britain from the 1720s to 1760s. Painted enamels were made by firing finely milled glass which had been coloured with metal oxides onto a metal base, usually gold or copper. The colours had to be applied and fired in several stages, according to the firing temperature required by each colour. Incredible precision was needed for a successful enamel portrait, since each firing carried risks of cracks and bubbles that might ruin the entire effort.
Sir Arthur Gilbert and his wife Rosalinde formed one of the world's great decorative art collections, including silver, mosaics, enamelled portrait miniatures and gold boxes. Arthur Gilbert donated his extraordinary collection to Britain in 1996.
Object details
Categories | |
Object type | |
Materials and techniques | Enamel on copper, gold pendant frame |
Brief description | Enamel miniature on copper probably of Sir William Morden, in a gold pendant frame, England, 1755, by Gervase Spencer. |
Physical description | Oval miniature bust length portrait of a man, probably Sir William Morden, shown with powdered hair and wearing a red and white uniform with white braid against a grey-green background. The miniature is enamel on copper and the frame is an oval gold pendant. |
Dimensions |
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Marks and inscriptions | Signed and dated 'GS 1755' (?) |
Gallery label |
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Credit line | The Rosalinde and Arthur Gilbert Collection on loan to the Victoria and Albert Museum, London |
Object history | Provenance: D.S. Lavender, London, 01/10/1981. |
Subject depicted | |
Summary | Gervase Spencer was formerly a gentleman's servant. He taught himself to paint miniatures in watercolour, working on the newly fashionable support of ivory. He later also painted miniatures in enamel. In the 17th century, new techniques of painting enamels allowed delicate portraits resembling tiny oil paintings to be created. These enamel miniatures were first fashionable in continental Europe, but were particularly in vogue in Britain from the 1720s to 1760s. Painted enamels were made by firing finely milled glass which had been coloured with metal oxides onto a metal base, usually gold or copper. The colours had to be applied and fired in several stages, according to the firing temperature required by each colour. Incredible precision was needed for a successful enamel portrait, since each firing carried risks of cracks and bubbles that might ruin the entire effort. Sir Arthur Gilbert and his wife Rosalinde formed one of the world's great decorative art collections, including silver, mosaics, enamelled portrait miniatures and gold boxes. Arthur Gilbert donated his extraordinary collection to Britain in 1996. |
Bibliographic reference | Coffin, Sarah and Bodo Hofstetter. Portrait Miniatures in Enamel. London: Philip Wilson Publishers Ltd. in association with the Gilbert Collection, 2000. 168 p., ill. Cat. no. 55, p. 105. ISBN 0856675334. |
Other numbers |
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Collection | |
Accession number | LOAN:GILBERT.270-2008 |
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Record created | June 26, 2008 |
Record URL |
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