Hands in Pockets

It is well known that many miniature painters struggled to paint hands competently so the artist of this charming profile cleverly shows the little boy with his hand in his pocket. He is typically dressed for the period in a skeleton suit with two rows of buttons running down the bodice, worn over a shirt with a ruff collar. But it is his over-sized peak cap that raises a smile!

Painted on card and slightly marked along the outer right edge, the portrait is set with convex glass in a traditional papier-mâché frame with a decorative floral surround and an emblems (rose, thistle and shamrock) hanger.