Decorative miniatures are not rendered observations of known individuals or scenes but instead small pieces created for purely ornamental purposes. Many were mass produced for the tourist trade, particularly toward the end of the nineteenth century, when it became possible to print on substrates like porcelain or celluloid, a thermoplastic substitute for ivory: The hard white substance originating from elephant, walrus, or narwhal tusks, often used as the support for portrait miniatures.. Decorative miniatures are often romanticized portraits of women with flamboyant, sometimes anachronistic clothing and highly stylized facial features. Some are copies of well-known oil portraits by eighteenth-century artists like Thomas Gainsborough (1727–1788) or Elisabeth Louise Vigée Le Brun (1755–1842). These objects were often signed by an unknown painter or given a false inscription in an attempt to associate the work with a famous sitter or a celebrated miniaturist, such as Richard Cosway (1742–1821). They are typically paired with ornate frames to increase their attractiveness to American buyers seeking charming souvenirs of their time abroad.
doi: 10.37764/8322.8.4200