English Artist: William Patten, Jr.

Georgian Era Child
Wearing a Black Mourning Dress

English
circa 1810
attributed to William Patten, Jr. (1792-1843)*

2 x 2 1/2 inches (sight)

watercolor on ivory; housed under glass in a 14k gold
pendant frame with plaited hair to the reverse

*Attribution made with the assistance of Emma Rutherford, The Limner Co., London, England

Reverse of the above portrait miniature, with plaited hair
under glass. Click (+) to see a larger image.

Nineteenth child's mourning dress, similar to the one worn by the
child in the above miniature portrait; black silk plain weave; a holding
in the collection of the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) Museum,
Providence, Rhode Island.

About the Portrait: It was highly unusual during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries to dress children in black, the exception being during a family's period of mourning. Thus, one can easily assume that the child depicted in the miniature portrait had lost a close family member to death, perhaps a parent. It is unknown if the plaited hair to the reverse of the portrait was that of the child, a deceased family member, or a combination of the two blended together.