A fabulous portrait miniature, icon of her time, French Empire or the era of Napoleon I of France. Those who were of sufficient station in life to afford having their likeness memorialized in miniature were typically those who also could afford the finest fashions of the day, as you see with this young beauty and her stiff gauze collar which rises from her Empire gown to frame her beautiful face. She also wears the side-angled French tiara of the time, and this is the first time I've seen one with pale blue beads. Perhaps dyed pearls or paste pearls, they pick up the blue of her shawl and that stunning sapphire and diamond clasp or brooch worn at the raised waistline of her Empire gown. When I found this beautiful little painting, I thought I could see a signature there on her white sleeve, but it turns out not to be. Auch a fine painting and no credit to its creator - this is more typical than not of the portrait miniatures. An artist, unless he/she had broad fame in their time, did not typically sign, or might have signed just on the rim so it would not be visible when in frame. Seems a slight, since the talent they possessed is often quite immense. Additionally, it is also true that artists whose work achieved fame regularly did miniatures as a side source of income, or to set down the likeness of their own loved ones. Full measurements will be found on our photos. 

Very good to excellent condition for age and type, over 200 years old now. The brass oval frame would, traditionally, have been a mat set into a black or natural wood rectangle, and we often find they've been removed from those frame mounts of the era. She is almost perfectly preserved in the brass mount and under her original slightly convex cover glass, but for a very small rub to the outer rim of her portrait at about the 4 o'clock position, showing as a white spot. It does not take much to do this - never ever try to clean a portrait miniature. They are watercolor/gouache on thin wafer and the paint will lift if any water is applied. With her tiara and fashion, isn't she just stunning! 

Return Policy:
We always honor a 3-day return on our items, and guarantee them to be as described. Money back, less shipping costs, which are not refundable, so ask questions if necessary. We're easy to deal with.

Shipping and Handling Policy:

You are very important! Our fine inventory is very important. And your ranking of our performance is also very important! We wish to keep our 4.9 - 5 star ratings in all categories. Customer satisfaction is paramount with us, so if you're thinking we have not deserved your highest marks, please contact us and allow us to be sure your concerns are completely satisfied before you rank us. We aim for 5-star transactions every day, and depend upon you to tell us directly if we have not yet met that standard for your transaction. Thank you! We most often use USPS for our shipping needs but will be happy to ship by another carrier if you prefer.

We charge only actual postage & insurance, never a handling fee and never for packaging materials. Ebay is now requiring that our clients rank us on "shipping". The shipping price, speed and handling are actually under the sole control of the delivering postal agency, not Antiques & Uncommon Treasure so please remember that and leave us high DSR rankings. As always, please also feel free to contact us if you have any problems or concerns, we'll do what we can to ensure a happy and mutually enjoyable transaction.

Insurance has been eliminated as an option by ebay, forcing us sellers to either ship your items without insurance or assume that expense also. We always insure our items BUT, more importantly, pack them extremely well knowing that most are not replaceable. Again, damage in transit, while rare in our experience, is due to the postal agency handling and not caused by Antiques & Uncommon Treasure. Please remember that when leaving DSR ratings. Thanks!

Our shipping days are Tuesday and Friday, paid items will be shipped on the first shipping day after payment is received (except when special circumstances exist). We prefer to use USPS whenever possible, and require all packages to be insured. If you prefer another method of shipment, please mention it. We charge only actual expense of shipment/insurance, except in the case of larger items which must have special wood crates built. Wood crate charge, when applicable, is a flat $35.00 in addition to actual postage & insurance charges.

Other Information:
8.75% sales tax applicable as of April 1st, 2009 for shipments & sales within the state of California, no exceptions. If you are within CA and are a dealer buying for resale, you must provide us your active resale certificate # and acknowledgment of intent to resell or we will have to collect sales tax. No exceptions.

Auction Payment Methods:
Paypal: E-Check, Visa, Mastercard, etc.. Credit card payment by online service only, no direct processing.