Georgian Watercolour Miniature in Oval Wooden Frame, c. 1770s

A miniature watercolour painting on ivory of young woman with a high hairstyle of the 1770s in an Georgian frame with domed hand blown glass.

The frame has a gilt bronze inner ring. The original black lacquer finish is worn and there is later gilt paint around the edge. It has a small ring for hanging at the rear.

By the 1770s extreme hairstyles and wigs had come into fashion. Women wore their hair high upon their heads in large plumes. To create tall extreme hair, rolls of horse hair, tow, or wool were used to raise up the front of the hair. Pomatum was then used to stiffen their hair and hold the powder that was applied.