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An Unknown Girl, aged five
Oliver, Isaac, born 1558 - died 1617 - Enlarge image
An Unknown Girl, aged five
- Object:
Portrait miniature
- Place of origin:
England (painted)
- Date:
1590 (made)
- Artist/Maker:
Oliver, Isaac, born 1558 - died 1617 (painter (artist))
- Materials and Techniques:
Watercolour on vellum stuck to a playing card and set in an ivory frame
- Credit Line:
Bequeathed by George Salting
- Museum number:
P.146-1910
- Gallery location:
British Galleries, Room 58, case 2
Object Type
A miniature is so-called because of its watercolour technique, not because of its size. These two miniatures are unusual in being painted as a pair. Both are inscribed in gold 'Ano Dm 1590' ('The year of Our Lord 1590'). One is inscribed 'Aetatis Suae 4' ('aged 4'), the other 'Aetatis Suae 5' ('aged 5'). Although the dresses of the two children are alike, it is notable that their ruffs are in different styles. The younger child does not smile and holds an apple. The elder has a slight smile, holds a carnation and wears a ring on the fourth finger of the left hand.
Subjects Depicted
When these miniatures were painted, only the well off could afford to have portraits painted. We do not know who these children were, but we may assume that they were sisters and that they came from a wealthy family. Isaac Oliver (about 1558-1617) introduced distinguishing elements into these very similar images: the apple and carnation, the frown and the smile. It is possible that these symbols had a personal meaning for the family who commissioned the portraits, and they may not have been the artist's idea. In many paintings an apple (the fruit that Eve took from the tree of knowledge in the Garden of Eden) stood for the biblical story of the Fall of Man. A carnation symbolised the Virgin Mary, the mother of Jesus Christ. But how these applied to these two girls is now unclear. The significance or otherwise of the ring is also unknown.
