Portrait of an unknown woman
Portrait Miniature
17th century (made)
17th century (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
This is an example of an unusual amusement that came into fashion after about 1650. It consists of an oil miniature painted on copper and set in a leather case. Accompanying the miniature are a number of costume details painted in opaque colour on slivers of transparent mineral known at the time as ‘talc’. In fact, the little costume sheets are pieces of mica. This is a mineral that splits easily into thin yet very tough and flexible flakes, as transparent as glass. These ‘talcs’ matched the oil miniature in shape and size, so that the owner could dress up the subject in different costumes by laying on the ‘talcs’ one at a time. We do not know where these miniatures were manufactured, but they are found throughout Europe. They could be accompanied by as many as 20 different talcs.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Parts | This object consists of 3 parts.
|
| Title | Portrait of an unknown woman (popular title) |
| Materials and techniques | Oil on copper |
| Brief description | Anonymous portrait miniature of an unknown woman, oil on copper with a painted mica costume overlay. Dutch School, ca. 17th century. |
| Physical description | Known as a "Talc" miniature, this portrait depicts a woman in a red dress with red bow, against a landscape background. Painted in oil on copper, with talc costume overlays, this miniature has 21 talc overlays in total. |
| Subjects depicted | |
| Summary | This is an example of an unusual amusement that came into fashion after about 1650. It consists of an oil miniature painted on copper and set in a leather case. Accompanying the miniature are a number of costume details painted in opaque colour on slivers of transparent mineral known at the time as ‘talc’. In fact, the little costume sheets are pieces of mica. This is a mineral that splits easily into thin yet very tough and flexible flakes, as transparent as glass. These ‘talcs’ matched the oil miniature in shape and size, so that the owner could dress up the subject in different costumes by laying on the ‘talcs’ one at a time. We do not know where these miniatures were manufactured, but they are found throughout Europe. They could be accompanied by as many as 20 different talcs. |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | P.10 to U-1978 |
About this object record
Explore the Collections contains over a million catalogue records, and over half a million images. It is a working database that includes information compiled over the life of the museum. Some of our records may contain offensive and discriminatory language, or reflect outdated ideas, practice and analysis. We are committed to addressing these issues, and to review and update our records accordingly.
You can write to us to suggest improvements to the record.
Suggest feedback
You can write to us to suggest improvements to the record.
Suggest feedback
| Record created | July 11, 2003 |
| Record URL |
Download as: JSONIIIF Manifest
