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Unknown Man

Attributedattributed to Philip Jean (British, 1755-1802)

ClassificationsPAINTINGS

Datemid 18th-mid 19th Century

Mediumwatercolor on ivory

Dimensions3 x 2 1/2 in. (7.6 x 6.4 cm.)

DescriptionPortrait miniature housed in locket bordered with pearls

Credit LineThe Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens

Status

Not on view

Label TextPortrait miniatures were typically housed in protective lockets or frames that were then decorated. In keeping with the miniature's role as a representation of an absent loved one, the hair of the sitter was often set into the lockets. The reverse of the miniature on the left shows the hair of the sitter arranged into a sheaf of wheat tied with tiny gold wire and seed pearls, a common decorative motif, with a braid of hair surrounding it. The sitter, Lionel Tollemache, an Ensign in the Coldstream Guards, was killed at Valenciennes in 1793. This miniature may have been commissioned to leave behind with a loved one when the sitter went to France or at his death as a mourning token. The reverse of the miniature of an unknown gentleman on the right has an expensive enamel surround encircling an oval of plaited hair.

Object number24.29