All Items : Fine Art : Paintings : Miniatures : Pre 1837 VR item #1455329 (stock #na169)
A c 1840 signed portrait miniature by Gabriel Aristede Passot, done on natural material. As is usual with his work, it is superbly painted, and is of a gentleman in a black coat with a multi-colored merit award ribbon.

The miniature is in fine condition, with no chips, cracks, paint loss, or bowing. A light area along the top edge is due to light reflection. The case, of high quality silver with a royal crown and a mother-of-pearl reverse, is in excellent condition...

All Items : Fine Art : Drawings : Pen : Pre 1837 VR item #1419693 (stock #JB02667)
Fine old master style sepia ink drawing on paper, with some pencil underneath, 10" by 15 1/2" inside the mat, 15 1/2" by 20 1/2" in modern day frame, signed at lower right "Furstenburg", the locale identified at bottom center apparently by the artist as "View of the Rhine from Bacharach Aug 17". This could well refer to the year 1817 as the work has sufficient age. On the reverse is written in pencil "Germany $3.75"...
All Items : Fine Art : Paintings : Miniatures : Pre 1837 VR item #1292437 (stock #a1418)
A French portrait miniature of a woman done in watercolor on natural material. The sitter, clearly a woman of means,is dressed in au courant fashion in an elaborate white lace hat, a blue ribbon at her throat, and a white lace fichu over her blackish green dress.

On the backing of the painting is written in ink (at the time the painting was done) in French, the name of the sitter "Antoinette Francoise Garison," some other information, and that she was born on September 20, 1773 (see photo #4)...

All Items : Fine Art : Paintings : Miniatures : Pre 1837 VR item #1464473 (stock #a1859)
A striking and colorful R. Mills miniature portrait of a blue-eyed blonde woman. The subject is wearing a white gown with lace edging and balloon sleeves, a blue necklace and sash belt. Those colors nicely complement the carefully chosen background, which is blue with pink tinges, which also complements her ruddy or over-rouged cheeks.

The painting is signed on the backing paper "Painted by Rd Mills Birmingham 1829" and is housed in a 4 1/4" by 3 5/8" bronze frame...

All Items : Fine Art : Paintings : Miniatures : Pre 1837 VR item #1463510 (stock #na168)
An uncommon c1840 miniature by Richard Morrell Staigg, signed lower right. The sitter is a blue-eyed young woman, simply posed in a black dress with lace edging at the bodice. Presented in 1/2 of a dag case. The sight size is 3" by 2 1/4".

BIOGRAPHICAL NOTE: Richard Morrell Staig was born in England in 1817 and moved to the U.S. in 1831, first settling in Newport, RI. While there, Staigg studied under Jane Stuart, Gilbert Stuart's daughter...

All Items : Fine Art : Paintings : Miniatures : Pre 1837 VR item #1179920 (stock #a1154)
A beautiful and charming portrait on porcelain, painted, and signed on the reverse, by the well-known English artist, William Corden. The sitter is a young girl in a pretty white dress trimmed in blue, with matching shoes and necklace. She is seated in front of a red drapery, holding a basket of flowers, with several scattered by her side on the chaise-longue. signed on the reverse...
All Items : Fine Art : Paintings : Miniatures : Pre 1837 VR item #1410879 (stock #na154)
A striking portrait miniature, on natural wafer, done by Geibel (signed along left side). Thus far we have not been able to find the artist listed in any of the main directories. The sitter is shown wearing a white stock, waistcoat, and a royal blue jacket.

The condition of the painting is excellent, with no problems at all. Please note that the darker area on the right part of the jacket is due to the difficulty of photographing the painting...

All Items : Fine Art : Paintings : Miniatures : Pre 1837 VR item #1146944 (stock #a1282)
A stunning miniature portrait painting, watercolor on natural organic material, of a beautiful young girl with hazel eyes. The artist has painted the sitter with a background of clouds against a blue sky, often thought to denote that the piece was done as a mourning keepsake.

The condition of the painting is excellent, with no chips, cracks, bowing, or restoration. This little gem is housed in its original cast bronze brooch, with a mother-of-pearl backing...

All Items : Fine Art : Paintings : Miniatures : Pre 1837 VR item #1307719 (stock #a1442)
A totally charming miniature painting of a child, done in watercolor on natural material, and housed in an elaborately molded 15K gold case and surround. The cute sitter is in a white gown and posed against a cloud-filled blue sky, with foliage and a tree to the right. The reverse of the case is glazed, with a lock of hair in the aperture, and a pin so that the miniature can be worn as a brooch.

The condition of this lovely example is excellent...

All Items : Fine Art : Paintings : Miniatures : Pre 1837 VR item #1251212 (stock #a1367)
A striking and strongly limned Andrew Plimer miniature portrait of Edward Buller Hicks, of the Royal Navy. He was promoted to lieutenant in 1812, and this portrait was most likely done at that time. In a later ebonized wood frame which nicely complements the piece. Both the painting and the frame are in excellent condition with no issues...
All Items : Fine Art : Paintings : Miniatures : Pre 1837 VR item #1282012 (stock #a1395)
A fine example of an Abraham Parsell watercolor on organic wafer. The sitter, with brown hair and hazel eyes, is dressed in a black coat and cravat and a white shirt with gold stickpin. The background is done in the multi-color style typical of Parsell's work, as is the sketch on the reverse of the wafer.

The 2 3/8" by 2" sight size miniature is housed in a cast foliate case with a glazed lens on the reverse. The condition of the painting is fine, with no cracks, chips, restoration, or bowing....

All Items : Fine Art : Paintings : Miniatures : Pre 1837 VR item #1078397 (stock #a1237)
A miniature portrait painting by Abraham Parsell, done in his recognizable style with somewhat frizzy hair, and the sitter posed with his arm on a chair. Housed in its original cast foliate frame with a rear aperture containing a lock of hair.

The painting is 2 5/16" by 1 7/8", while the overall locket size is 2 1/2" by 2 1/8". Condition is excellent with no chips, cracks, bowing, paint loss or restoration.

Note: Abraham Parsell (1792 - after 1856), a popular American folk miniature painte...

All Items : Fine Art : Paintings : Watercolor : Pre 1837 VR item #1426224 (stock #10299)
Page from an album. Illustration in Chinese style (chinoiserie) of a young Chinese man in white pants and blue tunic, beating a small drum or gong with a stick. His head shaved in the style of the first half of the Qing dynasty, a long very thin tail wound around the back of his head.

The shades on his clothes and face done in tiny black dots, in imitation of shading in an etching. Black ink and watercolors on Western paper. French or English. Early 19th century.

The style of this wa...

All Items : Fine Art : Paintings : Miniatures : Pre 1837 VR item #1439899 (stock #a1753)
A miniature portrait, done in watercolor and gouache on organic wafer, of a young man, well portrayed by the artist to capture his power and possible arrogance. The hazel-eyed sitter is shown in a casual pose, wearing a dark jacket and white ascot.

The condition is excellent, with no cracks, bowing, or paint loss. Presented in a cast bronze frame without glazing the sight size is 2 1/8" by 1 5/8", with an overall size of 4 1/2" by 3".

All Items : Fine Art : Paintings : Miniatures : Pre 1837 VR item #1464400 (stock #na178)
A rare and signed portrait miniature by Charles Byrne. Done in an almost impressionistic style, the sitter is a blue-eyed woman simply presented in a white gown with fur trimming along the top edge. She is posed against a gauzy white background with blue tints to complement her eyes.

The miniature has a sight size of 2 1/2" by 2" and is in excellent condition. The backing paper of the painting has the following artist and sitter identifications: "Painted by / Ch Byrne / 1801 / Mary Lambor...

All Items : Fine Art : Paintings : Miniatures : Pre 1837 VR item #1453357 (stock #a1791)
A signed Hyacinthe Mercier miniature portrait, painted on natural wafer. The beautifully rendered sitter is a pleasant looking woman wearing a lace bonnet with lavender and light blue bows, and a dark blue robe or gown. "Mercier 1824" in script along the right side.

The painting is in excellent condition, with some rough edges which do not show while the piece is in its period bronze frame. Sight size is 2 3/8" by 1 7/8", with a frame size of 2 3/4" by 2 1/4".

BIOGRAPHICAL NOTE: Mlle Hy...

All Items : Fine Art : Paintings : Miniatures : Pre 1837 VR item #973979 (stock #na103)
A charming miniature portrait, on natural organic material, of a child, signed Mercier for Mlle Hyacinthe Mercier.

The painting is in excellent condition, and is housed in its original silver and embossed tortoise shell frame. The shell portion has two unimportant splits, visible at 6 and 9 o'clock in the photo. Sight size of this little gem is 1 7/8 inches by 1 1/2 inches, while the frame size is 3 3/8 inches by 3 inches.

Mlle Hyacinth Mercier worked as a miniaturist in Paris, living at 27...

All Items : Fine Art : Paintings : Miniatures : Pre 1837 VR item #1351649 (stock #a1557)
A portrait miniature of a good looking young gentleman, well painted in watercolors on organic wafer. This fine piece is enclosed in a bronze surround.

The sight size is 2 3/4" by 2 1/2", and the overall size is 3 1/4" by 2 3/4". The condition of the miniature and the surround is excellent, with no problems or restoration at all.