Vaslet of Bath, Lewis Miniature portrait of a... Lot 6489

Vaslet of Bath, Lewis Miniature portrait of a young man called Lord Carnegie, with powdered hair, in a gray jacket with black collar, white vest, knotted neck tie and red ribbon; in front of a cloudy sky. Watercolor and gum arabic on ivory. 6.4 x 5.1 cm (oval). In a gilt metal frame, blue glass backed with guilloché metal foil with vertical oval reserve under glass with hair composition and initials "JM" made of seed pearls on a frosted glass plate backed with guilloché metal foil. Circa 1795/1800. Little known biographical information about this talented artist can be found in Neil Jeffares: Dictionary of pastellists before 1800, online version updated January 2, 2022 (viewed March 7, 2022). Provenance: London, Sotheby's, auction "Objects of Vertu, Silhouettes and Good Portrait Miniatures" on October 6, 1980, lot 138 with illus. (as "A young man called Lord Carnegie" by Henry Burch), hammer price 350 GBP plus 10 % buyer's premium.