Description

A highly collectable and beautifully executed Georgian portrait miniature ring. Sometimes confused with mourning jewellery, these jewels were originally intended as sentimental items, worn by wealthy ladies and gentlemen and containing portable images of their loved ones which indicated their feelings (and also their wealth) to others.

In the years before photography, people relied on the talent and craftsmanship of an artist to capture the face and persona of their beloved's, and to enable these images to be transported with ease this required someone who could also paint on a much smaller scale whilst retaining the intricate detail required.

This particular miniature may be very slightly later than the ring it inhabits and depicts a young lady wearing an early 19th Century pink gown. Her blonde hair frames her face beautifully whilst her blue eyes and blush cheeks give her a charming vitality. It has been nicely executed by the artist and was more than likely painted on ivory although this would be impossible to confirm without removing it from the frame which may cause damage and is best avoided.

The portrait is preserved behind a convex glass panel and the ring itself is typically unmarked Gold, and is circa 1820. The setting is quite large, as hopefully the pictures show and is decorated with very simple parallel channels of black enamel. The setting in particular is beautifully crafted with a convex back to sit comfortably against the finger. It is in fabulous condition, although in part the condition has been helped at some point by restoration work to the shank (the band which wraps around the finger) which may have been replaced or at least strengthened. This is not uncommon; items of this age have invariably been resized on numerous occassions over their lifetimes and will eventually wear thin. It is quite possible this was either a very large size or very small size at some point which can sometimes mean it is easier to replace the shank entirely than alter it by such a large amount. Either way, we have obviously taken this into account and priced the ring accordingly.

A charming and collectible item.

It is a UK size R1/2, US approx 8.75.

Price: £1,195.00 (approx $1,900.00 USD)

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