Painting of the Day: A Miniature by Augustus Toussaint, 1800

Miniature
Ivory, Enamel, Watercolor, Gold, Copper, Diamonds
Augustus Touissaint, 1800
The Victoria & Albert Museum

An attractive oval bust-length portrait, this glittering miniature depicts an unidentified English officer. The curators at the V&A suspect that he may be one Captain Richard Lloyd. Like Lloyd, the handsome chap has short fair hair and a distinctive jaw line. He is shown wearing his uniform.
As was the case with most miniatures of the early Nineteenth Century, this portrait is rendered in watercolor on ivory. Set in a frame of gold, blue enamel and diamonds in the form of military flags, the miniature is backed in copper and gold and still retains its original blue leather case.