Portrait miniatures: settings & uses

No gold or jewelled lockets from Henry VIII's day survive and very few from Elizabeth I's. We have descriptions of these expensive cases but most have probably been broken up and melted down. What have survived are tiny ivory boxes. These, like many later cases, were designed to be carried privately, like a snapshot in a wallet.

Many miniatures were small enough to be worn as jewels, but bigger ones were probably displayed in small cabinets. Large 19th-century miniatures could both be packed easily in luggage and displayed publicly, like a studio photograph today.

Click on the images below for larger versions and more information.

Samuel Cooper, portrait of Sir Samuel Morland Baronet

Samuel Cooper
Portrait of Sir Samuel Morland Baronet
About 1661
Watercolour on vellum, stuck to a table-book leaf
Inscribed on the back ‘Sir Samuel Morland / Cooper’
Bequeathed by Mrs A.B. Woodcroft
Museum no. 481-1903

This miniature is set in a silver-gilt locket with a typical scroll decoration at the top. It was never meant to have a lid. Although the locket could have been worn, it was probably displayed in a small cabinet.

John Smart, portrait of Dorothea Capper

John Smart (1742?-1811)
Portrait of Dorothea Capper
1778
Watercolour on ivory
Signed lower right 'J.S.' in monogram, and dated '1778'
Purchased with funds from the Captain H.B. Murray Bequest
Museum no. P.66-1920

This gilt metal locket was worn on a ribbon bracelet. There is a mechanism at the top and bottom to hold it securely and the back is slightly curved inwards so it sits comfortably.

Richard Cosway, portrait of Mrs Lowther

Richard Cosway (1742-1821)
Portrait of Mrs Lowther
About 1780
Watercolour on ivory
Given by Mr W.A.J. Floersheim
Museum no. P.101-1931

Here the miniature is set into the lid of an ivory and gold snuff box, under glass. Snuff was powdered tobacco inhaled through the nose. Snuffboxes were very fashionable and often included miniatures.

The Monogrammist ‘GI’, portrait of Charles II when Prince of Wales

The Monogrammist ‘GI’
Portrait of Charles II, when Prince of Wales
About 1644
Watercolour on vellum, probably stuck to a table-book leaf
Given by Elizabeth J. George
Museum no. E.442-1995

The blue enamelled case with a lid attached is original. The miniature is a copy of an oil painting by William Dobson. During the Civil Wars, iniatures of the Prince of Wales were worn as tokens of loyalty to the Crown.

Annie Dixon, portrait of Elizabeth

Annie Dixon 1817-1901
Portrait of Elizabeth, Lady Stuart de Rothesay
1865
Watercolour on ivory
Inscribed by the artist on the backing card 'Lady Stuart de Rothesay / Painted by A. Dixon 1865'
Museum no. P.36-1987
Bequeathed by Mrs T.R.P. Hole

Lady Stuart de Rothesay died in 1867. Her miniature is set in a gilt metal frame with a stand at the back. The frame has been personalised with a coronet and her initials in monogram.

Charles Robertson, portrait of an unknown woman

Charles Robertson (1760-1821)
Portrait of an unknown woman,
Displayed to show the back of the locket and the miniature
Painted in watercolour on ivory
Museum no. P.98-1962
Bequeathed by John Jones

At the back of this portrait miniature is a hair ornament. Elaborate ornaments made of hair became popular from the 1780s and apparently were not always made with the sitter's hair. The hair ornament is decorated with gilded wire and seed pearls, forming the initials of the sitter, 'H.I.C'.

Nicholas Hilliard, portrait of an unknown man

Nicholas Hilliard (1547-1619)
Portrait of an unknown man
About 1590
Watercolour on vellum, stuck onto a playing card with two diamonds visible
Museum no. 887-1894
Given by Miss Margaret Blencowe

This miniature is set under glass in its original turned ivory box. The ivory lid pushes onto the base. The sitter has traditionally been called 'William Barbor'. Some writers also argue that the artist was Isaac Oliver.

Jeremiah Meyer, portrait of an unknown woman

Jeremiah Meyer, RA (1735-89)
Portrait of an unknown woman
About 1780
Watercolour on ivory
Museum no. P.12-1951

The case is made of shagreen. True shagreen was shark's skin, but an imitation shagreen was made with leather, usually from a horse. It was given an artificially granulated surface and dyed green.

Anonymous British Artist, Eye Miniature

Anonymous British Artist
Eye miniature
About 1790-1810
Watercolour on ivory
Museum no. P.56-1977
Given in memory of the Hon. Donough O'Brien by his wife the Hon. Rose O'Brien

'Eye miniatures', where one eye of the sitter was painted, were all the rage from 1790 to 1810. Most were tiny and set as brooches. This one has tears made out of little diamonds.

Christina Robertson, self-portrait

Christina Robertson, born Sanders (1775-1854)
Self-portrait
About 1822
Watercolour on ivory
Museum no. P.10-1940

Christina Robertson painted miniatures and oils for an aristocratic clientele in London and Paris. She eventually settled in Russia. This self-portrait is set in a faded crimson leather case, lined with crimson velvet.