An Unknown Woman
Portrait Miniature
ca. 1660 (painted)
ca. 1660 (painted)
Artist/Maker | |
Place of origin |
Portrait, to front, with her right hand against her face and wearing a pearl necklace. Features in brown and sanguine, hatched diagonally in blue-grey and heavily impasted with gouache, with red in the lips and black with a touch of white in the eyes, on a thick, pale carnation ground; hair in brown wash, hatched and lined with darker colour and with the lights and curls in pale gouache; the dress in pale brown wash, modelled and heightened with yellow and ochre gouache; the chemise in white, modelled and shaded in grey; the jewel in black over grey with a touch of white; background a dark gummy brown wash; on vellum put down on a leaf from a table-book.
Frame: Late seventeenth- or early eighteenth- century silver parcel-gilt case of oblong shape, with four straight sides separated by wavy canted sections. The frame has a billet moulding between two channels and is hinged on one long side to attach two covers, which are fastened by lugs secured by a sprung-steel double hasp (one missing). Each cover is engraved and flat -chased with a symmetrical pattern of rectilinear strap and foliate scrolls, with a bird with outstretched wings in the centre, on a punched ground. In one side is an octagonal bevelled glass mirror, and in the other, secured by a slip-in cover-gilt and engraved with symmetrically repeated ornament of two foliate scrolls on a tooled ground, is the slightly convex glass.
Frame: Late seventeenth- or early eighteenth- century silver parcel-gilt case of oblong shape, with four straight sides separated by wavy canted sections. The frame has a billet moulding between two channels and is hinged on one long side to attach two covers, which are fastened by lugs secured by a sprung-steel double hasp (one missing). Each cover is engraved and flat -chased with a symmetrical pattern of rectilinear strap and foliate scrolls, with a bird with outstretched wings in the centre, on a punched ground. In one side is an octagonal bevelled glass mirror, and in the other, secured by a slip-in cover-gilt and engraved with symmetrically repeated ornament of two foliate scrolls on a tooled ground, is the slightly convex glass.
Object details
Categories | |
Object type | |
Title | An Unknown Woman (generic title) |
Materials and techniques | Watercolour on vellum put down on a leaf from a table-book |
Brief description | Portrait miniature of an unknown woman, watercolour on vellum, painted by Richard Gibson, ca.1660. |
Physical description | Portrait, to front, with her right hand against her face and wearing a pearl necklace. Features in brown and sanguine, hatched diagonally in blue-grey and heavily impasted with gouache, with red in the lips and black with a touch of white in the eyes, on a thick, pale carnation ground; hair in brown wash, hatched and lined with darker colour and with the lights and curls in pale gouache; the dress in pale brown wash, modelled and heightened with yellow and ochre gouache; the chemise in white, modelled and shaded in grey; the jewel in black over grey with a touch of white; background a dark gummy brown wash; on vellum put down on a leaf from a table-book. Frame: Late seventeenth- or early eighteenth- century silver parcel-gilt case of oblong shape, with four straight sides separated by wavy canted sections. The frame has a billet moulding between two channels and is hinged on one long side to attach two covers, which are fastened by lugs secured by a sprung-steel double hasp (one missing). Each cover is engraved and flat -chased with a symmetrical pattern of rectilinear strap and foliate scrolls, with a bird with outstretched wings in the centre, on a punched ground. In one side is an octagonal bevelled glass mirror, and in the other, secured by a slip-in cover-gilt and engraved with symmetrically repeated ornament of two foliate scrolls on a tooled ground, is the slightly convex glass. |
Dimensions |
|
Content description | Miniature oval portrait of a woman wearing a pearl necklace. |
Styles | |
Credit line | Purchased from the funds of the R. H. Stephenson Bequest |
Object history | Provenance: Bought from H E Backer, Park Street, Mayfair, in August 1954 with funds from the R H Stephenson Bequest. |
Subjects depicted | |
Bibliographic references |
|
Collection | |
Accession number | P.23-1954 |
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 | June 30, 2009 |
Record URL |
Download as: JSONIIIF Manifest