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Est. 2023 by leading portrait miniatures consultant Emma Rutherford. We sell miniatures and offer a range of consultant services. By appointment in London, UK.

Clients include the National Portrait Gallery, Victoria & Albert Museum and National Trust. The only independent, freelance consultant for portrait miniatures, Emma divides her time between a consultancy at Philip Mould in Dover Street, London (www.philipmould.com), curating private collections and writing.

21/10/2026

While Emma is in Venice this week at the Fondazione Maddalena Di Giacomo, we’re delighted to present The Venice Edit. This selection of 17th- and early 18th-century miniatures will be available for sale at Emma’s guided tour of the Fondazione on 25th October 2026 (link in bio), as well as on our website (link in bio) and below:

1. *NEW* ENGLISH SCHOOL (18th century), An enamel portraying the Allegory of Painting; circa 1790. Enamel on copper, within a border of blue and clear paste stones in silver setting. £1,100

2. *NEW* Circle of JEAN-ETIENNE LIOTARD (1702-1789), Portrait miniature, probably portraying a young Frederick the Great, wearing the sash of the Order of the Schwarzen Adler. Watercolour on vellum, pasted onto a playing card (red diamond). £1,950

3. *NEW* JOHANN HIERONYMUS REICHARTT (fl.1695), Portrait enamel of a Prelate wearing ‘preaching bands’ and a crimson cape over robes; 1684. Enamel on metal, signed on counter enamel “IHR” and dated 1684; In later brooch set with diamonds and rubies. Reserved.

4. *NEW* AUSTRIAN SCHOOL (17th century), Portrait miniature of Leopold I, wearing lace cravat and the Order of the Golden Fleece. Watercolour on vellum. £2,200

5. *NEW* JEAN PETITOT (1607-1691), Portrait enamel of King Louis XIV (1643-1715), wearing gilt studded armour, the blue sash of l’ordre du Saint-Esprit; circa 1670. Enamel. Reserved.

Plus more online…

20/10/2026

As our Founder, Emma Rutherford, arrives in Venice this week ahead of her guided tour at the Fondazione Maddalena Di Giacomo (see website for details), we wanted to shine the spotlight on Venetian miniaturist Rosalba Carriera.

Born in Venice in 1673, Carriera grew up on the Grand Canal and was originally trained in lace-making. She is often credited with pioneering the technique of painting miniatures on ivory, rather than vellum, a technique that was developed from the production of small scenes and portraits on ivory embedded into the lids of snuffboxes, called 'fondelli'.

As can be seen in the examples here (images 2-5), previously sold by the Limner Company, the original function of these miniatures as part of lids often means their backs are just as beautiful as their fronts.

Carriera forged a highly successful career, working in both miniature and pastel, and developed relationships with some of the most influential artists and agents of the period, including Joseph Smith (1682-1770) and Anton Maria Zanetti the Elder (1680-1767). She is also featured in ‘The Portrait Miniature: A New History’, by Damiët Schneeweisz, Adriana Cochin, and Rosalind McKever, published by the V&A and Thames & Hudson (image 1).

For more information on Rosalba, see the blog from earlier this year, 'Rosalba Carriera (12/01/1673-15/04/1757): Friend, Artist, Pioneer', on our website.

Images 2/3: ROSALBA CARRIERA (Venice 1673 - 1757), portrait of Joseph Smith and Catherine Tofts as Thalia, previously with The Limner Company.
Images 4/5: ROSALBA CARRIERA (1675-1757), portrait of a lady in Venetian dress, c.1710-20, previously with The Limner Company.

19/10/2026

Ever wonder what happens to a portrait miniature once it finds a new home?

Many collectors enjoy displaying their portrait miniatures at home. Here are a few photos showing some of the many ways you can install them.

Others choose to wear their miniatures! This is, of course, the way they were originally intended to be shown off. You can find some inspiration in the images above.

Some collectors like to keep their miniatures in a drawer or cabinet that serves as a kind of portrait miniature-focused ‘Wunderkammer’… This method of display allows owners to interact with the objects. Taking them out, holding them, and showing them to their friends or family.

Which manner of display do you prefer? Post a photo of it and tag us!

16/10/2026

in 1590s Italy consists of lace, gems, flowers, and fabulous textiles

ITALIAN SCHOOL, Portrait oil of a Noblewoman, circa 1590 – FOR SALE

This Noblewoman’s outfit definitely suggests she was a wealthy lady with quite a sense of fashion. Sizable pearls dangle from jewellery pieces fastened in her hair, the whole elaborate copper updo topped with a red flower. The colour of her hair may be part of this manufactured image, as women in Renaissance Italy are known to have artificially dyed their hair lighter (sometimes resulting in a shade of red or orange). [1]

The delicate lace ruff is supported by the collar of her dress, just barely visible underneath. The lady’s green dress radiates wealth and opulence with red accents, fine stitching, and gold chains adorning the front. In structure and design, the dress is quite similar to one worn in a ‘Marriage Portrait of a Bolognese Noblewoman’ painted by Lavinia Fontana around 1589 now in the National Museum of Women in the Arts (Washington D.C.).[2]

The artwork is available for sale on our website (link in bio).

[1] See Janet Stephens, “Becoming a Blond in Renaissance Italy,” The Journal of the Walters Art Museum 74 (2019), https://journal.thewalters.org/volume/74/note/becoming-a-blond-in-late-fifteenth-century-venice-a-new-look-at-w-748/.

[2] See Lavinia Fontana, ‘Marriage Portrait of a Bolognese Noblewoman (Livia de’ Medici Bandini?)’, circa 1589, National Museum of Women in the Arts.

15/10/2026

Another pink-haired gentleman painted by the brilliant John Smart.

Although it may seem peculiar, people in the 1770s really did wear coloured powder in their hair. This daring fashion is pretty much exclusively worn in portrait miniatures (NOT in large scale oil portraits). This is probably related to the private nature of miniatures and their tendency to capture fleeting moments in time.

While not uncommon in portrait miniatures of the time, coloured powder appears disproportionately frequently in artworks by John Smart (1741-1811). Perhaps this owes to his upbringing as the son of a wigmaker, causing him to pay more attention to elegant updos and trendy hairstyles. It could also be that many of his clients were “nouveau riche” – a group that quickly and widely adopted the coloured powder.

Vibrant hair colours in works by Smart are sometimes seen as an indicator the portraits were painted during the artist’s tenure in India – due to the popularity of the style while he was there (see the very light pink powder in image 2). This does not appear to be the case of the current miniature, as the portrait dates to 1776 (before Smart left for India) and the signature (initials ‘J.S’ and date) is not accompanied by the “I” used to identify which of his portraits were painted in India (see images 2-4).

The current artwork still does appear to have ties to India – and to Smart’s production of miniatures there. The key is its frame… Read more on our website (link in bio).

Artworks featured:
1. JOHN SMART, Portrait miniature of a Gentleman with pink powdered hair wearing a green coat, cream waistcoat and white ruff, 1776. FOR SALE with The Limner Company.

2. JOHN SMART, Portrait miniature of an Officer, probably Alexander Dyce (1758-1835), 1790. SOLD by The Limner Company.

3. JOHN SMART, Portrait miniature of Admiral Sir John Lindsay (1737-1788), 1787. SOLD by The Limner Company.

13/10/2026

Couldn’t help but notice a reference to Nicholas Hilliard’s ‘Portrait Miniature of an Unknown Man Clasping a Hand from a Cloud’ (V&A) in this portrait of Andrew Lumsden (1941-2023), currently on show at the National Portrait Gallery as part of Tim Walker’s Fairyland.

There have been multiple attempts to identify Hilliard’s sitter in the V & A portrait, though he still remains anonymous. The inscription next to him, ‘Attici amoris ergo.’ has never been satisfactorily translated from Latin, either. It is thought that the hand coming from the cloud is that of a young lady, but the question of exactly who still remains the subject of intrigue.

We know a lot more about Andrew Lumsden, who was the co-founder of Gay News, leading member of the Gay Liberation Front, and a co-organiser of London’s first Gay Pride. Walker’s portrait was taken in 2023, and directly references one of the most mysterious miniatures out there…

Image 1: All credits to Tim Walker. Andrew Lumsden (1941-2023) (after Nicholas Hilliard), London, 2023. Pictured in the exhibition catalog for Tim Walker’s FAIRYLAND, National Portrait Gallery, London, 2026.

09/10/2026

We were so excited to see these on the runway with Acne Studios for their SS27 collection.

The eternal accessory – the portrait miniature – continues to inspire artists, designers, writers, filmmakers, and other creatives centuries after they first came on the scene in the 1500s.

It was great fun seeing a contemporary interpretation of these historical pieces in the jewellery from Acne Studios SS27 collection. We look forward to hopefully seeing these pieces for sale in February.

Browse the antique portrait miniatures for sale on our website (link in bio).

Image credits:
1. Leo Schmidt Alvarez-Garcillán (Leo Schmidt Alvarez-Garcillán), Acne Studios (Acne Studios)

08/10/2026

Swipe to reveal a dashing Earl… and an intricate design on the portrait’s reverse

Although the sitter’s identity remains uncertain, his being classified as an Earl comes from the red wax coronet on the reverse hovering over the initials ‘JD’. Imagine the patience required to execute the central design with hairwork, wax, mother of pearl, gold wire, and seed pearls.

Miniaturist William Wood painted over 1,200 miniatures during his career, meticulously recording many of them in his ledgers. Within these ledgers, he listed the sizes of ivory ovals he used as the base for his portraits. The present work is a size ‘7’ (83 mm or 3 ¼ in high), the second largest of those listed.

Read more about or get a closer look at the portrait miniature on our website (link in bio).

WILLIAM WOOD (1769-1810), Portrait Miniature of an Earl, circa 1795. For Sale with The Limner Company.

06/10/2026

You can own a version of something that currently hangs in Anne Boleyn’s childhood home at Hever Castle…

Like the work at Hever Castle in the second slide, this set of portraits (all watercolour on card) appears to depict Henry VIII and his six wives: ‘Catherine of Aragon’, ‘Anne Boleyn’, ‘Anne of Cleves’, ‘Catherine Parr’, ‘Catherine Howard’, and ‘Jane Seymour’. The labelled scrolls appear in the same order on our set and the one in Hever Castle.

But the labels identifying the sitters in the version currently for sale are not all correct… As many of you may know, there are historic issues associated with identifying portraits of the wives of Henry VIII.

What do you think about these representations? Whose portraits are mixed up?

Read more about these portraits – who they depict, where and when they come from, and more – on our website.

02/10/2026

It’s that time of the week again! This we’ve got a man in uniform for you…

The red coatee worn by this gentleman, painted by John Cox Dillman Engleheart, rather reminded us of the uniforms worn in screen adaptations of Austen’s work, including by Alan Rickman as Colonel Brandon in Sense and Sensibility (1995, image 2) and by Louis Partridge as Mr Wickham in Dolly Alderton’s upcoming Pride and Prejudice (2026, image 3). Though he was painted a few years after Austen wrote Wickham and Brandon into being, his uniform highlights how important fashion can be in gaining clues about who the sitters in portrait miniatures are.

JOHN COX DILLMAN ENGLEHEART (1784–1862), Portrait of a subaltern of the Line Infantry, wearing a red coatee with a single epaulette, gold lace and yellow facings, a dark cloak over his left shoulder; 1827, watercolour on ivory (licence SX1D95N2), rectangular, 95 x 75 mm (3¾ x 3 in). Available for £2,500.

We don’t know who our catch of a subaltern is, and the single epaulette on his right shoulder suggests that he was a subaltern of the Line Infantry, just as Colonel Brandon’s and Mr Wickham’s uniforms would have identified their positions. Miniaturists often painted their male sitters in uniform, either to commemorate a new position within the army or to leave their loved ones with an image to remember them by. And what a striking one this is!

For more information on the miniature, visit our website.

Happy Friday!

Address

London
SW1Y5

Opening Hours

Monday	9:30am - 6pm
Tuesday	9:30am - 6pm
Wednesday	9:30am - 6pm
Thursday	9:30am - 6pm
Friday	9:30am - 6pm

Website

https://www.portraitminiature.com/

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