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Portrait of a Woman Wearing a Miniature

c. 1800
Artist/maker unknown, American
This portrait of a young woman may have commemorated an engagement or marriage. Miniatures were very personal images and wearing them as a locket or broach was typically an expression of romantic love, parental affection, or mourning. In this image the woman's shy smile and jaunty dog-itself a symbol of fidelity-suggest a celebration of romantic love.

Object Details

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