Prussian Helmet Cap

Painted on a white plaster base, this profile shows a lady wearing an empire-line dress with a frilled collar fill-in accessorised with a pretty close-fitting cap, known as a Prussian Helmet, decorated on her forehead with a posy.

The silhouette has been neatly bronzed by the master profilist John Field who worked alongside John Miers in his studio on The Strand. Theirs was a partnership and friendship of longstanding that continued until Miers died in 1821. The business was then willed jointly to Field and Miers’s son, William, but the dynamics had clearly been altered too much as within a few years the business filed for bankruptcy. Field continued to paint profiles during the 1830s but from a studio that he now shared with his own son.

The silhouette is presented in the original papier-mâché frame with convex glass, a decorative surround and ormolu leaf hanger. These frames were made exclusively for the business by John Miers’ son, William. An unbroken trade label (no. 11) remains on the reverse.