No. 2883 Lover's Eye Painting on an English Lowestoft Pattern Plate

Lover's Eye painting on an antique English saucer by Booth's in the Lowestoft Border pattern modeled after an 18th-century design, with blue and white underglaze transferware and colorful floral sprigs with light touches of gold; paired with a frame from a 19th-century wallpaper of an equestrian hunt scene through a woodland landscape. The plate measures 5.5"; the frame measures 8.25" x 8.25". THE HISTORY: Lover's Eyes were a jewelry trend c.1785-1830 of brooches set with tiny watercolor portraits on ivory. Since they were cropped to eyes, they were in many ways more direct and intimate than traditional miniature portraits; but also because they were just eyes, they were often used as daring public testimonies of clandestine love affairs with mystery lovers.  THE CHINA: Many of my Lover's Eyes are set in antique saucers and dishes which not only work as unexpected frames but add a layer of historical narrative on top of the origin story. Each piece has a unique blend, so that some a