Details
A charming Naive School miniature portrait of two siblings sharing a basket of fruit. The boy is in a ‘skeleton’ suit with ruff collar while the girl, in a coral necklace, wears a simple muslin dress with a matching frilly cap trimmed with a bow. A skeleton suit was an outfit for small boys, popular from about 1790 to the late 1820s, after which it increasingly lost favor with the advent of trousers. It consisted of a tight short- or long-sleeved jacket buttoned to a pair of high-waisted trousers. Skeleton suits are often described as one of the earliest fashions to be specifically tailored for children, rather than being adult fashions sized down. Previously (and subsequently) young boys wore dresses until they were breeched or put into trousers. In a narrow frame with a decorative gilt metal surround. English, circa 1815.
Width: 8.5cms (3.25 inches)
Height: 9.5cms (3.75 inches)
Ref: 10421
SOLD