Oh, thank goodness the federal government finally decided that we can continue to collect antique items made at least partially of ivory such as this fabulous folk art portrait miniature! So many antique dealers and museums labored long and hard to make the government understand that these true antique pieces do not pose a threat to living elephants.
Portrait miniatures by Clarissa Peters (Mrs. Moses B. Russell) are highly desirable and this is a great one. This beautiful young lady appears to be about 16 years old to me. Perhaps this was her coming out portrait, commissioned by her parents. Clarissa studied with Moses B. Russell, whom she married in 1839. They shared a studio in Boston at 21 School Street from 1840 until 1851. Her work is similar to her husbands although still distinctive with a great delicacy and naïve charm. Most of her sitters were women and children. Peters almost never signed her work. The characteristics of her work include oversized limpid eyes with eyelids and irises heavily outlined, making the eyes the most prominent feature. The mouth is small and seems a bit pinched in relation to the large eyes. She generally set off the mouth with small marks at each corner and a shadow below the lower lip. Clarissa generally used a frontal pose of the head and shoulders (sometimes she used three-quarter lengths for children), placing the subject close to the picture plane to create a sense of immediacy with the viewer. The pale skin tones that she used contrast with the deep shades of fabrics. She used a hatched, striated background for which she favored grey green and purple backgrounds but also used unique combinations of the colors brown, pink, green, light blue, and white. This attributed portrait miniature well represents her work.
The young lady is beautiful with her large, deep brown eyes gazing soulfully at the viewer. Her dark eyes, eyebrows and hair stunningly set off the pale tones of her skin and her delicate features. Her dark blue dress brings further attention to those delicate skin tones and it all set off by the big pink ribbon peeking out from the back of her head and the red book in her hand. The brown cross-hatched background illuminates the young girl’s face. It is just a stunning portrait miniature.
The frame is a water gilded Sully frame with an applied decoration. I have had and seen numerous Peters’ portrait minis in these very deep Sully frames which help to draw attention to the tiny portrait. However, I’ve never seen one with this applied decoration. I suspect that the frame is original. Whether the decoration was applied later is a mystery. The gilding is in very good condition for the age so I suspect it has been regilded since its manufacture. Framed size is 6 1/16” wide x 6 5/8” tall. The moulding is 1 7/8 thick (from the wall to the front). Sight size is 1 ¾” x 2 ¼”. The portrait is in near fine condition with a few tiny spots of paint loss and tiny stains (almost imperceptible without magnified examination). No cracking or warping to the natural substrate.
This will be an important addition to your collection. Circa 1840.
#5770 Sale Pending
>Please see the Folk Portrait Artists page for more information about Clarissa Peters (Mrs. Moses B. Russell) .
