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If you are looking for something pretty, like a hand-painted miniature of a lovely, regal lady dressed in the style of the 18th century, you will find an extensive offering on ebay at any given time. Over 80% of all miniatures offered - either on-line or at shows, and even in antique shops - are what are known in the trade as "Decorative Miniatures." Often, sellers offer these as original portraits because they don't know better. By and large, decorative miniatures are mass-produced copies of (or in the style of) famous paintings which hang in museums, and were mostly produced in Germany from the early 1900's up to the second World War. These attractive items, while now becoming antiques in their own right, were not made to deceive the public, but rather to satisfy a growing market demand for small, affordable pieces of decorative art. Produced in studios mainly in Germany, France and Italy, they were popular with the European middle class, and with the flourishing tourist trade in Europe (who bought them as souvenirs). Most often, the miniatures came in frames fashioned out of old piano keys, and sometimes in ornate brass fames. Nearly all of these miniatures depict either beautiful young ladies, famous composers, historical figures (Napoleon, Josephine, etc.), or religious subjects (saints). Many of these are "signed" with French-sounding names. The quality of these paintings varies greatly. While some are very well painted, others are crudely over-painted on a photographic base. Serious collectors of miniatures avoid these decorative pieces, and will only look for the "real thing": a unique painting of an actual sitter, made by a real artist.
What is a Miniature Portrait?
Nearly all miniatures portraits depict a person's head and shoulders in an area not exceeding five inches. They were done from the early 1700's mostly in watercolor on a wafer of organic material, and from the late 19th century, often on a substitute called "ivorine." The earliest miniatures date from the mid 1600's and were painted on either copper or on the back of playing cards, and a little later on vellum (a parchment made from calf skin). Miniatures in enamel (mostly 18th century pieces) will occasionally (though rarely) come up for sale. Porcelain or marble were almost never used for real miniatures. Miniatures also appear on paper, but most watercolor portraits of this genre will show the full body of the sitter, and are not considered to be true miniatures. Neither are paintings on canvas or wood, or, for that matter, silhouettes. Most early miniatures are oval in shape. However, from the mid 1800's on, when they had to compete with early photographic images, they were often made in a rectangular format, in order to appear more like oil paintings and/or photos. Round miniatures point to a French origin. Size-wise, early miniatures from the 1700's tend to be smaller than later paintings, and were often worn as jewellery. Later miniatures were intended for hanging on a wall, or were framed with "easel" backs for displaying on a table. As the art of miniature painting waned in the early 20th century, many of these pieces were being produced with a photographic base, and it is hard to draw the line between a portrait miniature with a light photographic base and an over-painted photo.
How to differentiate between "Decorative Miniatures" and "Real Miniatures"
While the trained eye will almost always easily spot a copy, there are a few guidelines anyone can follow that will help to separate the wheat from the chaff:
1- If you scan the ebay listings for miniatures, you'll find the same ladies pictured again and again. You may even recognize them as copies of large oil paintings by famous artists. Many of the subjects wear big hats, or have flowers in their powdered hair. Other giveaways are their facial features, which were painted to suit the ideal of beauty at the time. For instance, "18th century" ladies may have late 19th century tiny little pouty "kissing mouths."
2 - The Frame: Miniatures in piano key frames are a telltale sign of a mass-produced item (looking at tens of thousands of miniatures throughout the years, I have found only one real miniature that was later put into one of these frames). As a matter of fact, one can say that the more decorative the frame, the greater the chance that the miniature is not real. Old pieces were framed mostly in simple metal or wood frames. Most medium-quality early 19th century miniatures (the heyday of this art form), were presented in simple black rectangular frames with metal "acorn" hangers. Some copies of miniatures in these type of frames were (and still are) made to deceive, but those are rare.
Condition
The biggest condition problem often found in old miniatures are cracks or hairlines in the wafer. These are not repairable ... not even by a good restorer, and they greatly reduce the value of a painting. Smudges and small areas of missing paint are fixable by a good restorer, but may cost more than the painting is worth. I would personally rather have a good miniature with a condition problem than an average piece in pristine condition; but that's a matter of taste.
Price
One would think that the "real deal" is always more expensive than a later copy, but that is not the case. Decorative miniatures often fetch more than originals twice their age. This happens when the buyer specifically wants a decorative piece for personal reasons, or a seller offers a decorative piece as an original 18th century painting (either by intention or ignorance). When buying miniatures for their decorative value, most people prefer the idealistic picture of a lovely young lady over the rendering of a real sitter (who was not necessarily an attractive person). Normally, good decorative pieces sell in the neighbourhood of $150. While most "real miniatures" sell anywhere between $100 and $500, the really good pieces can fetch thousands ... and occasionally tens of thousands ... of dollars. As a rule, American miniatures are more desirable (and expensive) than European ones. Signed pieces, especially by well-known artists, are highest on the price scale. As with all antiques, age is not the most critical factor in the value of a miniature. One can often get a 17th century oil on copper miniature for less than a good Art Deco miniature. The asking, or starting, price of a miniature on ebay is also not a reliable indicator of value. Some dealers place totally unrealistic prices for copies or low-quality miniatures, while good pieces are often offered at low starting prices in an attempt to encourage bidding.
Why Collect?
I personally love 18th and early 19th century large scale portraits in oil. But how many of those can one hang in one's home? Many collectors live in small apartments, and just don't have the wall space for large paintings. Miniatures have the quality of being "big art" on a small scale, with the added advantages of being easy to display, store, and ship. Miniature portraits are more than just something to collect. Each one represents a small piece of history, a mirror of its time. It is sometimes possible, with a little bit of sleuthing, to find out more about the sitter. But even pictures of anonymous sitters are a window to the fashion of the day, a way of life, and an epoch gone by. Also an important consideration for the collector is the investment potential. Many of the now high-priced mass produced modern collectables cater to only a single generation (who buy them for nostalgic reasons) and may not have any appeal to future generations. However, original pieces of art have always been collected and always will be. Like any other classic collectable, such as silver, fine porcelain, antique furniture, etc., miniature portraits go through "trend" cycles that influence their market value at any given time. In my opinion, miniatures are still very much undervalued at the moment; the cycle is on the upswing.
What to Collect
The field of miniatures is huge, encompassing everything from 17th century oils on copper to early 20th century watercolors on ivorine. Most collectors specialize, some are only interested in 20th century pieces, while others will buy anything of American origin, children, beautiful ladies, distinguished looking gents, officers, signed paintings of known sitters, etc. This is truly a matter of taste, and there is no one area which "better" than another.
Where to Buy
If you have armed yourself with knowledge, and are able to form your own opinion (don't rely on sellers' descriptions alone), ebay is by far the best place to buy. If you need help (especially if you plan to spend thousands of dollars), your best bet would be the big UK auction houses, or reputable brick and mortar specialty antique shops. If you live in the rural UK (and are incredibly lucky), you might even find a miniature being offered by the family of the original sitter at a garage sale. But don't waste your time at this type of venue, or, for that matter, flea markets. In my 10 years of collecting miniatures, I never found anything this way.
If you have found this guide helpful and informative, please vote yes below!
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About the Author
Stefanie Deutsch (e-bay ID: 3starseast) has been collecting antique miniatures for more than ten years, and is currently working on a book about portrait miniatures. She is also the author of two books on vintage Barbie dolls: "Barbie, The First 30 Years" (published by Collector Books, the third edition just came out) and "Barbie" (published in the German Battenberg Verlag). She always welcomes contact with other collectors, both established and aspiring. Stefanie lives with her family in Vancouver, Canada.
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