Antique French c.1750 Portrait Miniature, Woman with Parrot, Tortoise Shell Snuff Box, 18k Gold Frame
A charming old one, mid-1700s, this portrait was made and given in friendship or affection, according to the opaline glass dedication that is mounted within. She's mounted on top of a snuff box of fine old tortoise shell, and her pet parrot (or exotic bird) perches on her bodice. So much to love about this rare old one. I've always watched for portraits of people with their pets, and often from c.1700s France, that pet will be a bird. Some tethered on a long ribbon so they can fly about but still not fly away. In over 40 years, I've really only found around 15 of them. This one is superb! Louis XV to XVI era, not later than c.1770s, the mount face is 18k gold, though it is attached to a brass fitting. I did take her apart to clean a very messy interior cover glass, and it was quite a chore. I do not recommend you take her apart for another century at least. The very thin natural wafer upon which she is so beautifully painted, is unsigned, and it has shrunken slightly which reveals the