Brooch with a miniature of Prince Albert (1819-1861) 1840
Gold, glass, diamonds, watercolour on ivory | 3.1 x 2.8 cm (support, canvas/panel/stretcher external) | RCIN 4826
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Miniature of Prince Albert, head and shoulders, in profile to the left, wearing a dark coat with a white shirt, Mounted in a gold bracelet clasp with a border of thirty old-cut diamonds, the reverse with brooch attachment, engraved: 'Albert 1841'. This miniature of Prince Albert is thought to be by Magdalena Dalton on the basis of a payment made to her for a miniature of Prince Albert by Queen Victoria in November 1840. It is a copy after the profile miniature of Prince Albert painted by Magdalena Dalton’s brother, William Ross, earlier in 1840 (RCIN 421462). It was originally set as a bracelet and a brooch clasp was added later. The miniature is faded in parts, consistent with its having been worn for long periods of time . A brooch of this description was certainly owned by Queen Victoria, who referred to the ‘brooch containing a miniature of him [Prince Albert] set round with diamonds, which I have worn ever since ’40’ in her Journal on 10 March 1863, the wedding day of the Prince and Princess of Wales (RA QVJ). However, the date of 1840 quoted by the Queen is at odds with the engraved date on the reverse of the miniature. A bracelet with diamond border and four diamond bands also contained a copy of Ross's 1840 miniature and was worn constantly by the Queen throughout her life. That bracelet, however, was bequeathed to Victoria, Princess Royal. The miniature in that bracelet is recorded in Queen Victoria's List of Jewellery as a work by William Ross. Magdalena Dalton, the second daughter of William Ross and younger sister of Sir William Ross (1794-1860), married Edwin Dalton in 1842. Trained by her father, she exhibited at the Royal Academy between 1820 and 1856 and styled herself 'Miniature Painter to the Queen' from 1850.
Provenance
Purchased by Queen Victoria in November 1840
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Creator(s)
Acquirer(s)
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Medium and techniques
Gold, glass, diamonds, watercolour on ivory
Measurements
3.1 x 2.8 cm (support, canvas/panel/stretcher external)
3.2 x 2.8 cm (sight)
4.2 x 3.6 x 0.6 cm (whole object)
Other number(s)
Alternative title(s)
Prince Albert (1819-1861)