Portrait of a Gentleman/Mourning Miniature Unknown. Portrait of a Gentleman/Mourning Miniature, late 18th century. Watercolor on ivory with human hair housed in metal locket with glass lenses, Recto (sight): 2 15/16 x 2 3/8 in. ( x 6 cm). Miniatures commissioned upon the death of a loved one epitomize the sentimental nature of these objects. In this double-sided locket, the finely rendered portrait of the deceased serves as a memento of the sitter, while the mourning scene on the reverse functions to memorialize his life. Mourning miniatures typically combined stock iconography—a bereaved

Portrait of a Gentleman/Mourning Miniature Unknown. Portrait of a Gentleman/Mourning Miniature, late 18th century. Watercolor on ivory with human hair housed in metal locket with glass lenses, Recto (sight): 2 15/16 x 2 3/8 in. ( x 6 cm). Miniatures commissioned upon the death of a loved one epitomize the sentimental nature of these objects. In this double-sided locket, the finely rendered portrait of the deceased serves as a memento of the sitter, while the mourning scene on the reverse functions to memorialize his life. Mourning miniatures typically combined stock iconography—a bereaved figure, tomb, and weeping willow—with individualized inscriptions. To further personalize the object, a lock or plait of the subject’s hair was set into the casework, or chopped hair was mixed into the paint used to depict leaves and grass, as in this example. American Art late 18th century

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