A PORTRAIT MINATURE DEPICTING GEORGE III AS A ROMAN EMPEROR

A PORTRAIT MINATURE DEPICTING GEORGE III AS A ROMAN EMPEROR

  A late 18th or early 19th century oval bust portrait minature of George III depicted as a Roman emperor shown in profile wearing a laurel wreath, the head facing sinister. 

Enamel oval, sephia on pink ground, set within an ebonised wooden frame with a patinated brass slip and hanging ring to the top. 

The associations with the Classical Roman empire reflect a contemporary interest in classicism and the Grand Tour which had emerged earlier in the 18th century with the English Enlightenment, the laurel wreath being symbolic of importance and perceived godly status in Classical Rome.

Condition: Hairline crack (see photos)  

England, c.1800