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The Limner Company Est. 2023 by leading portrait miniatures consultant Emma Rutherford. We sell miniatures and offer a range of consultant services. By appointment in London, UK.

Clients include the National Portrait Gallery, Victoria & Albert Museum and National Trust. The only independent, freelance consultant for portrait miniatures, Emma divides her time between a consultancy at Philip Mould in Dover Street, London (www.philipmould.com), curating private collections and writing.

Couldn’t help but notice a reference to Nicholas Hilliard’s ‘Portrait Miniature of an Unknown Man Clasping a Hand from a...
13/10/2026

Couldn’t help but notice a reference to Nicholas Hilliard’s ‘Portrait Miniature of an Unknown Man Clasping a Hand from a Cloud’ (V&A) in this portrait of Andrew Lumsden (1941-2023), currently on show at the National Portrait Gallery as part of Tim Walker’s Fairyland.

There have been multiple attempts to identify Hilliard’s sitter in the V & A portrait, though he still remains anonymous. The inscription next to him, ‘Attici amoris ergo.’ has never been satisfactorily translated from Latin, either. It is thought that the hand coming from the cloud is that of a young lady, but the question of exactly who still remains the subject of intrigue.

We know a lot more about Andrew Lumsden, who was the co-founder of Gay News, leading member of the Gay Liberation Front, and a co-organiser of London’s first Gay Pride. Walker’s portrait was taken in 2023, and directly references one of the most mysterious miniatures out there…

Image 1: All credits to Tim Walker. Andrew Lumsden (1941-2023) (after Nicholas Hilliard), London, 2023. Pictured in the exhibition catalog for Tim Walker’s FAIRYLAND, National Portrait Gallery, London, 2026.

We were so excited to see these on the runway with Acne Studios for their SS27 collection. The eternal accessory – the ...
09/10/2026

We were so excited to see these on the runway with Acne Studios for their SS27 collection.

The eternal accessory – the portrait miniature – continues to inspire artists, designers, writers, filmmakers, and other creatives centuries after they first came on the scene in the 1500s.

It was great fun seeing a contemporary interpretation of these historical pieces in the jewellery from Acne Studios SS27 collection. We look forward to hopefully seeing these pieces for sale in February.

Browse the antique portrait miniatures for sale on our website (link in bio).

Image credits:
1. Leo Schmidt Alvarez-Garcillán (Leo Schmidt Alvarez-Garcillán), Acne Studios (Acne Studios)

Swipe to reveal a dashing Earl… and an intricate design on the portrait’s reverseAlthough the sitter’s identity remains ...
08/10/2026

Swipe to reveal a dashing Earl… and an intricate design on the portrait’s reverse

Although the sitter’s identity remains uncertain, his being classified as an Earl comes from the red wax coronet on the reverse hovering over the initials ‘JD’. Imagine the patience required to execute the central design with hairwork, wax, mother of pearl, gold wire, and seed pearls.

Miniaturist William Wood painted over 1,200 miniatures during his career, meticulously recording many of them in his ledgers. Within these ledgers, he listed the sizes of ivory ovals he used as the base for his portraits. The present work is a size ‘7’ (83 mm or 3 ¼ in high), the second largest of those listed.

Read more about or get a closer look at the portrait miniature on our website (link in bio).

WILLIAM WOOD (1769-1810), Portrait Miniature of an Earl, circa 1795. For Sale with The Limner Company.

You can own a version of something that currently hangs in Anne Boleyn’s childhood home at Hever Castle…Like the work at...
06/10/2026

You can own a version of something that currently hangs in Anne Boleyn’s childhood home at Hever Castle…

Like the work at Hever Castle in the second slide, this set of portraits (all watercolour on card) appears to depict Henry VIII and his six wives: ‘Catherine of Aragon’, ‘Anne Boleyn’, ‘Anne of Cleves’, ‘Catherine Parr’, ‘Catherine Howard’, and ‘Jane Seymour’. The labelled scrolls appear in the same order on our set and the one in Hever Castle.

But the labels identifying the sitters in the version currently for sale are not all correct… As many of you may know, there are historic issues associated with identifying portraits of the wives of Henry VIII.

What do you think about these representations? Whose portraits are mixed up?

Read more about these portraits – who they depict, where and when they come from, and more – on our website.

It’s that time of the week again! This we’ve got a man in uniform for you…The red coatee worn by this gentleman, paint...
02/10/2026

It’s that time of the week again! This we’ve got a man in uniform for you…

The red coatee worn by this gentleman, painted by John Cox Dillman Engleheart, rather reminded us of the uniforms worn in screen adaptations of Austen’s work, including by Alan Rickman as Colonel Brandon in Sense and Sensibility (1995, image 2) and by Louis Partridge as Mr Wickham in Dolly Alderton’s upcoming Pride and Prejudice (2026, image 3). Though he was painted a few years after Austen wrote Wickham and Brandon into being, his uniform highlights how important fashion can be in gaining clues about who the sitters in portrait miniatures are.

JOHN COX DILLMAN ENGLEHEART (1784–1862), Portrait of a subaltern of the Line Infantry, wearing a red coatee with a single epaulette, gold lace and yellow facings, a dark cloak over his left shoulder; 1827, watercolour on ivory (licence SX1D95N2), rectangular, 95 x 75 mm (3¾ x 3 in). Available for £2,500.

We don’t know who our catch of a subaltern is, and the single epaulette on his right shoulder suggests that he was a subaltern of the Line Infantry, just as Colonel Brandon’s and Mr Wickham’s uniforms would have identified their positions. Miniaturists often painted their male sitters in uniform, either to commemorate a new position within the army or to leave their loved ones with an image to remember them by. And what a striking one this is!

For more information on the miniature, visit our website.

Happy Friday!

Another lovely regency lady to accompany the widespread admiration for the new ‘Sense and Sensibility’ film (Sense and S...
30/09/2026

Another lovely regency lady to accompany the widespread admiration for the new ‘Sense and Sensibility’ film (Sense and Sensibility).

This lady was painted by Andrew Robertson around 1810. The blue coat over her shoulders calls to mind the ones seen in the new film, as well as the 1995 version and the 2005 ‘Pride and Prejudice’ – particularly those worn when running around the countryside. The high waisted dress and ribbon tied under the bust are all too familiar, as are the soft curls framing her face.

The dramatic sky also seems quite fitting for the romance and emotion navigated in this story (and in art generally during this time). Its ominous appearance may also suit some more specific moments in the film…

Even her gaze off into the distance (rather than out at the viewer) adds a sense of drama to the portrait.

Learn more about this portrait miniature and the artist behind it on our website. Currently available in our “Affordable Portrait Miniatures” virtual selling event that ends tonight (Link in bio).

FOR SALE ONLY UNTIL MIDNIGHT TONIGHTThese miniatures were originally part of a larger group by Samuel Bernard depicting ...
30/09/2026

FOR SALE ONLY UNTIL MIDNIGHT TONIGHT
These miniatures were originally part of a larger group by Samuel Bernard depicting members of Louis XIV’s court.

The identity of the light-haired lady remains uncertain, but she is undoubtedly a lady of the French court. The dark-haired sitter may be identified as Hortense Mancini.

Hortense was brought up at the court of the French ‘Sun King’. When she was fourteen, the exiled King Charles II of England asked for her hand in marriage. Her father rejected, assuming Charles would never again be on the throne.

Hortense then married Armand Charles de La Porte, 2nd Duke of La Meilleraye (1632-1713). It was an unhappy union, and the Duke was abusive towards his new wife[1]. Seeking refuge with her sister, Marie (also in an unhappy marriage) the two planned to flee, with Hortense leaving Paris in 1668[2] in men’s clothing. She went to meet her sister in Italy, and later travelled to England, where she became a mistress of Charles II, who was again King.

If Hortense left the French court, could she still have had an attachment to Louis XIV ‘significant’ enough to be included in this group of portraits? In her memoirs, she notes the king gave her shelter when she fled, and encouraged her to return to her husband. Another member of the French court, Madame Colbert (the wife of the King’s minister) also pushed her to do so[3]. The kindness shown towards Hortense suggests that, even in her absence from the court, she was important to the King and his inner circle.

Comparisons to other portraits of Hortense, including one by Ferdinand Voet (one of Bernard’s teachers), show considerable similarities. Hortense’s look often includes the same fashionable, curly hair and large, brown eyes.

Can you read the letter this lady is writing? (Hint: it’s in French)If you look closely, the first two lines read “mon c...
29/09/2026

Can you read the letter this lady is writing? (Hint: it’s in French)

If you look closely, the first two lines read “mon cher coeur/ton absence…” (“my dear heart/your absence…”), making it clear this is a love letter.

Seeing that miniatures were often given to one’s spouse before they left for war, it is possible the lady is shown writing to a husband who is away fighting. And, given the apparent date of this miniature – indicated by details of her dress – it is likely that the love to which she writes has gone to fight in the Seven Years’ War. Could her husband have carried this miniature with him while he was away, perhaps alongside the letters she wrote to him?

FRENCH SCHOOL, Portrait miniature of a Lady in a Maroon dress, with lace sleeves and decorative bows, writing a love letter, circa 1758 – FOR SALE (Available for a reduced price in our “Affordable Portrait Miniatures” selling event)

Finding the balance between capturing likeness and flattering your client…John Downman A.R.A (1749 - 1824) was one of th...
28/09/2026

Finding the balance between capturing likeness and flattering your client…

John Downman A.R.A (1749 - 1824) was one of the most popular portrait artists of the high Georgian age. He prided himself on his ability to render a true likeness of a sitter with just enough flattery to please a client, stating in his 1820 publication ‘The Original Portraits of Distinguished Persons’ that “Painting is a visible fiction, yet its perfections depends [sic] on its resemblance to reality.”[1]

He is also recorded as having placed importance on the accuracy of the sitter’s dress: “Costume in Portraits should always be preserved, for Truth and obvious reasons”[2]. He also admitted he was not always impressed with trends: “In this Country the Fluctuations of Fashion is greater than in any other, and therefore is as often monstrous as graceful…”[3]

Downman’s ability to quickly capture a sitter’s likeness allowed him to access and present more informal moments. Here, Mrs. Elizabeth Legge (née Musgrave; 1749-1820) wears a coy half smile and sits in a slouched position on the sofa. This informal tone indicates this portrait was to be intended for someone who knew her intimately, most likely a family member or her husband

Portrait of Mrs. Elizabeth Legge (née Musgrave; 1749-1820) seated on a red sofa facing left in three-quart profile, wearing a white cloak with a pleated standing collar, a black choker. For sale in our “Affordable Portrait Miniatures” event (link in bio)

[1] Downman, J., ‘The Original Portraits of Distinguished Persons Painted and Drawn in the last half Century to 1820 by John Downman’, Volume 1st, Fitzwilliam Museum no.2314, Preface, quoted in Munro, J., John Downman 1750-1824; Landscape, figure studies and portraits of ‘Distinguished persons’, 1996 (The Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge), p.76

[2] Ibid.

[3] Ibid.

28/09/2026

Sometimes the beauty of a portrait miniature can be rivalled by its reverse…

Shimmering opalescent glass supports intricate designs such as initials made out of seed pearls, gold embellishments, and delicately woven or laid locks of hair. Imagine the steady hand (and strong lens) needed to execute something this detailed.

Sometimes it is the plaited hair that grounds such a design. Although this might seem a bit odd nowadays, it added an even more personal touch to an object that often served as a representation of someone in their absence. Wives could keep their husbands close when off to war and vice versa. These miniatures (the hairwork on their reverse) also allowed people to keep their loved one near after they had passed on.

All of the portrait miniatures featured are currently available for sale in our “Affordable Portrait Miniatures” virtual selling event which ends Wednesday 30 September. Browse using the link in our bio.

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