Rare c.1795 Double Portrait Miniature in 18k Gold Locket Frame, Father and Son, Incroyables

Rare in numerous ways, not only the fact that the choice was for profiles (an early preference/method) but also that it represents a father and son. Rare 18k gold drop-chain locket frame. Rare grisaille painting of the son, housed in a back-painted (eglomise) cover glass. Rare image of the son who is in the era and fashion of one of France’s most interesting fashion movements: Les Incroyables et Marveilleuses (Incredibles and marvelous), c.1795-99. That overly thick cravat and the overstated high collar, the dog-ear hair style and the slightly smug look – all are signature of the youth’s movement thus named. Young Royalists using fashion to protest the French Revolution, the fat cravat like a bandage holding a severed head on (guillotined). All taken together, this is one of my personal favorites. The old locket frame is perfectly intact, even with that little bending to the bale. I did not open it, though it does open and the clasp is along the bottom of the elegantly crafted 18k gold frame. I just didn’t want to take the chance of anything dislodging. The cover glass on these is thin, fine, fragile.  I’ve tried to show the paintings well even through it. The painted gold Matt on the glass cover of the younger of the two portraits is bright gold in light. My images show it darker in some places. Measurements noted on the photos. 

Very good to excellent on this rare find. These old ones in this type are relatively fragile, and very few remain. This one has no chips on either cover glass. The 2 paintings are exceptional, a tiny corner of the father’s image (lower right corner) seems to have a nip to the wafer. A very slight loss of the black paint edging on the eglomise cover glass bottom, son. Each of those cover glasses are perfectly beveled and fit perfectly and tightly into their 18k gold frame. RARE!  I do not see a signature. Perhaps some ID on inside?