18th c Portrait Miniature Ring of a Gentleman

A c. 1790 Georgian portrait miniature ring, set with a watercolor of a gentleman beneath beveled glass, all within a setting of 14-16k gold. The portrait, of a wigged gentleman in a smart coat with red lining and a lace cravat, is painted with skill and sensitivity, the balanced warm tones invoking a Rembrandtesque humanism. Neoclassical portrait rings of this type emerged around 1780, replacing the circular and oval-faced rococo portrait rings of the 1750-70s, and can the characterized by three distinguishing traits: a large octagonal ring face; a marked curvature to the ring head, to mold against the finger; and often a flaring shank with elegant beveled contours throughout. The construction of the present ring bears similarities to a c. 1790 ring with a portrait of Willem George Frederik, Prince of Orange-Nassau, in the Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam (no. SK-A-4457). Another of this type, attributed to Giovanni Domenico Bossi, is in the National Museum Sweden (NMB 1114). Two others, identified as West European in origin, are in the Koch Collection (cat. 1043, 1047).
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