Portrait of Benjamin Franklin set into a gold frame with ribbon surmount, the foliate pierced and enameled border set with enameled urns and basket decorated with seed pearls, the reverse glazed to reveal the counter-enamel. The portrait is one of five extant versions and the jeweled setting is most likely contemporary and commissioned so that the image could be worn as a pendant. Weyler painted this portrait as a part of a series of miniatures he called “Panthéon Iconographique,” which included famous men he wanted to preserve for posterity in enamel. Franklin was the most popular of the series’ subjects. The original portrait for which the enamel was based on has not been traced, but it is believed to be a pastel taken from life., See accession file for more information about provenance., Purchase of the Library Company, 2013.
