Pair of Surreal Portraits

A good pair of 18th century portraits in original gilt wood frames.

In this John Brevard painting, we see a strange and surreal creature that seems to inhabit a multidimensional world. The overall theme of the paint...

Pair of Austrian pastel portraits of country gentlemen in original carved wood gilt frames. Portraits retain the original glass.

Believing that the departed continue to hold influence over the lives of the living, many Chinese households honor their ancestors in private family rituals, invoking their spirits for long life, health, and prosperity. Commemorative portraits, which came into vogue in the late Ming and Qing dynasties, were commissioned specifically for ancestor worship and were believed to house the spirits of the deceased. These 20th-century portraits continue this tradition, depicting male and female ancestors dressed in formal regalia and seated on thrones in a highly decorated interior...

Appreciated for their small scale and delicate artistry, miniature portraits and landscape paintings have been popular in Europe since the 17th century, thought to originate from the tradition of illuminated manuscripts. Hand-painted on celluloid in the late 19th century, this pair of companion miniature portraits depicts Cacilia Bonaparte and Jérôme Bonaparte, the youngest brother of Napoleon I. The oval portraits are set behind domed glass and encased within rectangular frames veneered with imitation ivory. Signed Lereaux and titled on the reverse 'Jerome Bonaparte and Cacilia Bonaparte.' Minor losses to faux-tortoiseshell veneer.

A pair of oval gilt framed portraits of children, probably siblings, dated on back 1800. Original well cared for condition.