Portrait of Sarah Anne Bennett thumbnail 1
Portrait of Sarah Anne Bennett thumbnail 2
+1
images
Not on display

Portrait of Sarah Anne Bennett

Photograph
ca. 1865 (made)
Artist/Maker

By the 1860s, portrait photography had become highly commercial. To enhance business, photographers strove for innovation and novelty.

One short-lived example of this is the 'Crystal Cube Miniature', invented by Henry Swan. When viewed through mirrors and prisms the hand-coloured photograph appeared three-dimensional. 'The result is a living being in perfect relief', wrote a contemporary reviewer, 'he will appear, for all ages, a very substantial ghost of the living and the departed'. This example, showing an ancestor of the donor, has a silk-lined lid shaped perhaps like a coffin.

Object details

Category
Object type
TitlePortrait of Sarah Anne Bennett (generic title)
Materials and techniques
Crystal cube miniature
Brief description
'Crystal cube miniature', 3-D photograph, portrait of Sarah Anne Bennett, in case.
Physical description
Hand-coloured photographic transparency on talc, prisms, leather-covered wooden case with silk-lined lid, 3-d portrait of a woman
Credit line
Given by Margaret Bennett
Summary
By the 1860s, portrait photography had become highly commercial. To enhance business, photographers strove for innovation and novelty.

One short-lived example of this is the 'Crystal Cube Miniature', invented by Henry Swan. When viewed through mirrors and prisms the hand-coloured photograph appeared three-dimensional. 'The result is a living being in perfect relief', wrote a contemporary reviewer, 'he will appear, for all ages, a very substantial ghost of the living and the departed'. This example, showing an ancestor of the donor, has a silk-lined lid shaped perhaps like a coffin.
Collection
Accession number
E.3706-2007

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 Some of our records may contain offensive and discriminatory language, or reflect outdated ideas, practice and analysis.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

Record createdJune 8, 2009
Record URL
Download as: JSONIIIF Manifest