Painting of the Day: Miniature of an Unknown Man, 1619

Miniature in an enamel locket
Peter Oliver, 1619
The Victoria & Albert Museum

This miniature portrait bust depicts a dark man in a ruffed collar set into a Seventeenth-century oval gold locket, the convex back and front of which are enameled in a translucent dark blue. 

This is the work of Peter Oliver (1589-1647) and dates to about 1619.  We know this because it is inscribed “P.O./1610.”  We don’t, however, know the subject of the portrait and can only guess who he might be.