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Not currently on display at the V&A

Miniature

ca. 1705 (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

This portrait depicts John Churchill, First Duke of Marlborough in his armour and Order of the Garter badge. The miniature may have been commissioned to commemorate his victory in the important Battle of Blenheim during the War of the Spanish Succession.

Charles Boit may have based this miniature on a similar portrait painted by Michael Dahl. Boit was born in Sweden and lived in both Stockholm and Paris before arriving in England in 1687. He found success as a miniature painter after his arrival in 1687, and was appointed Court Enameller in 1696. In 1704 he was commissioned to make an ambitiously large enamel plaque commemorating the Battle of Blenheim, one that he would never complete despite being paid more than one advance on it. His debts in England eventually forced him to leave in 1714 for France, where he died in 1727.

Portrait miniatures in enamel became popular in the early seventeenth century and remained so well into the nineteenth century. In this technique, finely powdered glass coloured by metal oxides was applied to a metal surface and fired. Different colours required different firing temperatures, making it a long and technically demanding process. Such painstaking efforts were rewarded by the finished portrait’s glossy finish and relative durability.

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, silver-gilt
Brief description
Enamel miniature on copper of John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough, in a silver-gilt frame, ca.1705, by Charles Boit
Physical description
Rectangular miniature portrait of John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough standing three quarters length wearing armour and a blue sash with the Order of the Garter, an ermine and red cloak and holding his Field Marshall's baton. The miniature is enamel on copper and has a rectangular silver-gilt frame with a moulded surround.
Dimensions
  • Height: 21cm
  • Width: 8.5cm
  • Depth: 1.75cm
Measured 29/01/24 IW
Gallery label
  • 4. John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough About 1705 England; Charles Boit (1662–1727) Enamel on copper in gilded silver frame Museum no. Loan:Gilbert.302-2008(16/11/2016)
  • John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough About 1705 Charles Boit reintroduced the art of enamel painting to England in the 1690s. He accepted advance payments to create a large enamel plaque depicting the Duke of Marlborough’s victory at the Battle of Blenheim (1704). Unable to finish the work, he fled England because of debt. England; Charles Boit (1662–1727) Enamel on copper in gilded silver frame Museum no. Loan:Gilbert.302-2008(2009)
Credit line
The Rosalinde and Arthur Gilbert Collection on loan to the Victoria and Albert Museum, London
Object history
Provenance: The Earls Spencer, Althorp. Acquired by Arthur Gilbert from S.J. Phillips Ltd, London, 1979.
Subject depicted
Summary
This portrait depicts John Churchill, First Duke of Marlborough in his armour and Order of the Garter badge. The miniature may have been commissioned to commemorate his victory in the important Battle of Blenheim during the War of the Spanish Succession.

Charles Boit may have based this miniature on a similar portrait painted by Michael Dahl. Boit was born in Sweden and lived in both Stockholm and Paris before arriving in England in 1687. He found success as a miniature painter after his arrival in 1687, and was appointed Court Enameller in 1696. In 1704 he was commissioned to make an ambitiously large enamel plaque commemorating the Battle of Blenheim, one that he would never complete despite being paid more than one advance on it. His debts in England eventually forced him to leave in 1714 for France, where he died in 1727.

Portrait miniatures in enamel became popular in the early seventeenth century and remained so well into the nineteenth century. In this technique, finely powdered glass coloured by metal oxides was applied to a metal surface and fired. Different colours required different firing temperatures, making it a long and technically demanding process. Such painstaking efforts were rewarded by the finished portrait’s glossy finish and relative durability.

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 references
  • 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. 3, p. 51. ISBN 0856675334.
  • Schroder, Timothy, ed. The Gilbert Collection at the V&A. London (V&A Publishing) 2009, p. 88, pl. 68. ISBN9781851775934
  • Catalogue of the pictures at Althorp House. Privately Printed, 1831, p. 31, no. 455.
Other numbers
  • 1996.769 - The Gilbert Collection, Somerset House
  • MIN 5 - Arthur Gilbert Number
  • 1996.791.1 - The Gilbert Collection, Somerset House
  • MIN 26 - Arthur Gilbert Number
Collection
Accession number
LOAN:GILBERT.302-2008

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Record createdJune 26, 2008
Record URL
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