What were portrait miniatures used for?

They were personal keepsakes. A small likeness on vellum, card or thin ivory could be kept in a case, worn as jewellery or handed to someone as a token. The evidence still shows that use. Memorial and mourning brooches, a reversible pendant, a swivel mount and a tooled leather carrying case all appear among the listings.

Are most miniatures painted on ivory?

No. Ivory is named in 33 titles, well behind watercolour at 115 and oil at 74. Card, paper, vellum, panel, board and tin all recur. The unusual supports are stranger still: an agate panel, mother-of-pearl, celluloid, ivorine, tinplate, plaster, oak, silk, and one Indian group painted on the reverse of the glass.

How are these dated by dealers?

Usually by bracket rather than by year. Nineteenth-century labels dominate the archive, with the eighteenth century behind them, and Georgian and Regency covering much the same ground from another angle. Only 13 titles say dated, so an inscribed year on the piece itself is uncommon. Phrases like first half 19th century or 18th/19thC do most of the work.

Do silhouettes count as miniatures?

They sit in the category and account for 41 titles, rising to about one in ten of live stock on Sellingantiques. The sample covers cut, painted and gilded profiles, work on plaster, on glass and reverse-painted glass, plus plumbago and pastel cut-outs. Signed or attributed silhouettists turn up more often than named hands on the painted portraits, and one profile is of a spaniel.

Why do Indian and Persian miniatures sit at the top?

They are scarce in this category. Indian appears in only 17 of 676 titles, yet those entries occupy the ceiling of the market. Mughal School gouache, Deccan album pages around 1700, a Qajar painting and a Persian work placed at the end of the sixteenth century account for several of the highest-priced pieces in the archive.

Which pieces come as pairs or sets?

More come that way than the word miniature suggests. Pair appears in 57 titles, and framed groups of three, four, five, six, seven and eight recur through the sample. The largest is a German entry catalogued as thirty miniatures of the Vita Christi, in ink and pigment with gilt on paper. Sets and pairs form a noticeable slice of current stock.

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Antique Miniatures

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Very small painted pictures, mostly head-and-shoulders portraits on ivory, card, copper or vellum, made to be held, worn or set on a table rather than hung on a wall.

Portrait Miniature of an Officer by Edward Pugh, 1798

18th century

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Portrait Miniature of an Officer by Edward Pugh, 1798

From Wigs on the Green

£1,500

FOR SALE

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Attributed to George Clint, 1770 – 1854
Portrait of Maria "Foote" Stanhope, Countess of Harrington (1797-1867) as Maria Darlington in "A Roland for an Oliver"

19th century

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Attributed to George Clint, 1770 – 1854 Portrait of Maria "Foote" Stanhope, Countess of Harrington (1797-1867) as Maria Darlington in "A Roland for an Oliver"

From Artware Fineart

£1,500

FOR SALE

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Chinese Silk Table Screen with Intricately Carved Stand

19th century

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Chinese Silk Table Screen with Intricately Carved Stand

From Elmgarden

£600

FOR SALE

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18th century

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Oil on Copper Portrait of a Duchess

From Wigs on the Green

£1,275

FOR SALE

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18th century

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18th Century Framed Set of Three Plumbago Portrait Miniatures

From Treaders Collectables

£4,900

FOR SALE

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19th century

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Early 19th Century Watercolour and Gouache Miniature by Emma Kendrick

From Baggott & Co.

£4,450

FOR SALE

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Attributed to Henry Edridge, Ara, 1768 – 1821
A Mother and Child Dancing (A Pair , 2)

19th century

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Attributed to Henry Edridge, Ara, 1768 – 1821 A Mother and Child Dancing (A Pair , 2)

From Artware Fineart

£2,500

FOR SALE

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Miniature Portrait of Lady Godolphin by Jeremiah Steele

19th century

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Miniature Portrait of Lady Godolphin by Jeremiah Steele

From Wigs on the Green

£725

FOR SALE

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17th century

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A Decorative Pair of Italian Oils

From Oliveri Antiques Ltd

£1,900

FOR SALE

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Painted Silhouette by John Smith of Edinburgh

18th century

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Painted Silhouette by John Smith of Edinburgh

From Wigs on the Green

£425

FOR SALE

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The largest single group to pass through Sellingantiques was a German set of thirty miniatures of the Vita Christi, in ink and pigment with gilt on paper.

Large Enamel Painting on Copper. L'homme Au Casque D' Or. Limoges. Circa 1920.

19th century

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Large Enamel Painting on Copper. L'homme Au Casque D' Or. Limoges. Circa 1920.

From Dragoncharger Antiques

£4,750

FOR SALE

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19th century

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Portrait Miniature Circa 1875

From Frank Craig Antiques

£250

FOR SALE

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19th century

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19th Century Porcelain Portrait Plaque

From Treaders Collectables

£580

FOR SALE

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Victorian Miniature Watercolour Portrait 1852 Signed

19th century

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Victorian Miniature Watercolour Portrait 1852 Signed

From Antique Furniture Direct

£195

FOR SALE

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19th century

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19th Century Miniature Oil Portrait of Napoleon Bonaparte

From Branching Out Antiques

£220

FOR SALE

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Miniature Portrait of a Georgian Lady, 1770s

18th century

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Miniature Portrait of a Georgian Lady, 1770s

From Wigs on the Green

£480

FOR SALE

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Antique Miniatures

Portrait Miniature of an Officer by Edward Pugh, 1798

Attributed to George Clint, 1770 – 1854 Portrait of Maria "Foote" Stanhope, Countess of Harrington (1797-1867) as Maria Darlington in "A Roland for an Oliver"

Chinese Silk Table Screen with Intricately Carved Stand

Oil on Copper Portrait of a Duchess

18th Century Framed Set of Three Plumbago Portrait Miniatures

Early 19th Century Watercolour and Gouache Miniature by Emma Kendrick

Attributed to Henry Edridge, Ara, 1768 – 1821 A Mother and Child Dancing (A Pair , 2)

Miniature Portrait of Lady Godolphin by Jeremiah Steele

A Decorative Pair of Italian Oils

Painted Silhouette by John Smith of Edinburgh

Large Enamel Painting on Copper. L'homme Au Casque D' Or. Limoges. Circa 1920.

Portrait Miniature Circa 1875

19th Century Porcelain Portrait Plaque

Victorian Miniature Watercolour Portrait 1852 Signed

19th Century Miniature Oil Portrait of Napoleon Bonaparte

Miniature Portrait of a Georgian Lady, 1770s

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