A ceramic ornament with a richly colored print of an original watercolor painting of a Georgian Lover's Eye brooch. The original brooch, English, ca. 1790-1800, is in the collection of the Victoria and Albert Museum, London. The serpent border, a symbol of eternal love and fidelity, coils protectively around the painted eye. 3".

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.