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I had heard of the “lover’s eyes” miniature portraits and was surprised to see a snippet on them in the Style & Spy section of the May issue of Town & Country. I Googled “lover’s eyes” and clicked on the link to an article on www.salon.com which contains a slide show of 11 “lover’s eyes” seeing a snapshot of several different rings, brooches and other settings for the first time and what I found interesting about the “eye miniatures” is they have been given in memoriam as well. But I am awed by the “lover’s eyes” as they bring together two art forms I am most enamored by, portraiture and jewelry design and it would be a treasure to study these petite jewel-like portraits up close.
It’s always been amazing to me the level of emotion and detail of the human figure an artist can capture and express with each stroke of their brush or pencil. The tone of expression in the sitters face, the juxtaposition of shadows and light softly cast against the form accentuating its beauty and softness, the rich value and hue of color breathing life in the eyes, the passion of the artist and detail in each stroke is what draws me in to a love of portraiture. These jewel encrusted rings, brooches and pendants containing miniature portraits of “lover’s eyes” are wonderful compositions of artistry.
The mastery of the artist to paint such a petite likeness is seen in each tiny brush stroke and brilliance of life in the eye itself of these miniature portraits. Brush strokes can identify an artist work and in this case they focused on the eye represented only by brow and lashes and often encircled by clouds. A wisp of hair, the suggestion of a sideburn or the bridge of a nose hinted at the identity of the mysterious individual and most were painted in watercolor on ivory or vellum. Such mourning pieces contained the eye and initials of a departed loved one and were sometimes set in a frame of pearls thought to represent tears.
“Eye miniatures” as they were referred to then were coined the “lover’s eyes” by antiques dealer Edith Weber 42 years ago. Edith is the mother of Barry Weber president of Edith Weber & Associates of New York and an appraiser for Antiques Roadshow. Weber states that “these Georgian miniatures are one of the rarest examples of antique jewelry” and estimates that fewer than a thousand were made. The Weber’s advice to collectors of these miniature portraits; vellum portraits are no less valuable than their ivory counterparts, rings are rarer and therefore more valuable than brooches and fine detail in the eye increases a specimens value. Weber also notes that “American pieces are spectacularly rare”.
A remarkable 98 piece collection of Mr. & Mrs. David Skier an ophthalmologist of Birmingham, AL and thought to be the largest existing private collection of the “eye miniatures” will be on exhibit at the Birmingham Museum of Art in June.
