A miniature painting made of guoache or watercolor on ivory disk, enclosed in a gold or brass frame. The oval painting is a portrait of Gerard Gustavus Ducarel in a dark green coat and a white wig against a blue background. The portrait is signed “P. Paillou 1793.” The painting is framed in a brass or gold frame and covered with glass. The border is composed of ivory or bone, a braid of gold, surrounded by another thin frame of ivory. There is a brass loop on the top, positioned to suggest that it was meant to be worn as a necklace. On the back of the painting is a woven mat of hair.
Peter Paillou was a well-known miniature painting artist including the following works: https://www.npg.org.uk/collections/search/person/mp87720/peter-paillou?search=sas&sText=peter+paillou. His father was also a well known artist/illustrator, so it's likely he learned the craft from him. Most miniatures artists at the time were not trained professionally. The practice of painting miniatures on ivory appeared in the early 1700s; however, due to the difficulty painting with water colors on ivory, the paintings tended to be small. A number of portrait artists moved to India with the permission of the East India Company and painted both British men and natives. There's no indication though that Paillou himself moved to India, so it's likely this was painted in London or nearby.
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