A pearl set lover's eye brooch, the rectangular painting depicting a blue eye under a delicately arched brow and a lock of curled chestnut hair, glazed and collet set within a seed pearl border on a concave mount, closed back, rose metal tests for 9ct gold, length 3.1cm, cased
Other Notes: Lover's eyes were the mood jewellery of the late 1700s and early 1800s. The miniatures were popularised by a scandalous affair between the Prince of Wales, later crowned King George IV of England, and a widowed commoner named Maria Fitzherbert. Despite disapproval from the court, the two wed in secret and in 1785, commissioned portraits of their eyes as discreet and intimate tokens of affection. Once their story leaked to the public, however, lover’s eyes became en vogue among the privileged classes.