Antique Mid 19th Century Painted Silhouette 5 People Lemon Gold Gilt Frame

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Antique Mid 19th Century Painted Silhouette 5 People Lemon Gold Gilt Frame:
$225.00

This is an antique mid 19th century painted silhouette with five people in a lemon gold gilt frame.

I would estimate it dates circa 1840s or 1850s.

The overall frame measures 10 1/4 inches wide by 8 1/4 inches high (26 cm x 21 cm). The back opening size of the frame, and probably the size of the paper measures 8 1/2 inches wide by 6 1/2 inches high (21.6 cm x 16.5 cm).

The first woman is playing the piano. I\'m not quite sure what the man next to her is doing. Perhaps clapping. The next man and woman are sitting at a table reading. You can see the feather quill pen sticking up on the table and a little squirrel. Actually, there is a little basket with what appears to be a roll of yarn next to it, so maybe the woman is knitting something. The woman on the right is watering her plants.

The silhouette is in very good condition. There is some foxing on the paper, caused by the wood backing. The frame is chipped at each corner and there\'s space where the pieces of molding meet. It has its original old bubbled and wavy glass, square cut nails and wood back.

As I stare at the back, I\'m sensing that the original paper back came off due to brittleness. Around 1900 or so, someone put another paper back on along with different nails which you can see through at the top. I\'m fairly certain the silhouette is original to the frame though.

It weighs a little over 15 ounces (430 g).

Note added later: I\'m not sure if this is painted on paper or the glass. I\'m leaning toward glass, as the black paint fluctuates between a darker and lighter color as I\'ve seen in reverse painted glass.