Three-quarter length, forward facing portrait of an African American girl caregiver, possibly an enslaved girl, seated on a wooden chair with spindles. Sitter has short hair and is attired in a long-sleeved dress made of patterned fabric with small checks and an apron with white polka dots. She holds a white girl on her lap (probably her charge), with her right hand on the girl’s chest and her left hand on the left side of the girl’s head. Their heads press together side-by-side. The blond-haired, white girl, attired in a necklace, a short-sleeved, dark-colored, checked dress with a white petticoat, stockings, and black shoes, faces the viewer and smiles. Her cheeks are tinted pink., Title supplied by cataloger., Date inferred from photographic medium and attire of the sitters., Leather miniature case embossed with oval motif, contains nonpareil mat, and is missing front cover., Gift of Mrs. A. Douglas Oliver, 1977., Description revised 2021., Access points revised 2021.
Date
[ca. 1860]
Location
Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department Cased photos - unidentified [8326.F.17]
Full-length, forward facing portrait of an unidentified, young, white girl seated on a chair. Sitter has dark hair parted in the middle with a curl on her forehead. She is attired in an off-the shoulder, boat neckline, short-sleeved dress with decorative swirls around the collar and cuffs, a necklace, white stockings, and black Mary Jane shoes. She sits on a child-sized, wooden chair with her left arm on the armrest and curled right hand, slightly clenched, resting on her lap. Her lips and cheeks are tinted pink., Title supplied by cataloger., Date inferred from photographic medium and attire of the sitter., Pink tinting on lips and cheeks., Pad: Red velvet with a diamond-shaped, decorative scroll in the center., Mat: Nonpareil., Case: Leather. The design of the case is called the Oval, Diamond and Circle and is plate 198 in American miniature case art by Floyd and Marion Rinhart (Cranbury, New Jersey: A. S. Barnes and Co., Inc., 1969.) Uncommon., Gift of Robert DeMento, 2012.
Date
[ca. 1860]
Location
Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department Cased photos – unid photo – unid sitter [P.2012.50]
