Portrait Miniature

Portrait miniature is a portrait or scene painted in a very small size to decorate the desk, commode, or display case of wealthy 19th-century homes. They were usually created in watercolor on bone, ivory, or porcelain. Miniature artists rendered facial features so skillfully that the portraits looked expressive even when enlarged.

These works were valued as highly as large painted canvases, considered a luxury and a gift for the elite.

Interestingly, in some countries miniatures served as a kind of "passport" portraits, carried during travels — a sort of vintage passport! Today cabinet miniatures appear at auctions and often fetch considerable sums.