Skip to content

No. 3174 Lover's Eye Painting on an English Red Ivy Transferware Plate

Sale price$395.00

Lover's Eye painting on an English red transferware saucer with a red and white transferware ivy leaf botanical border and gadrooned edges in Mason's "Vista" pattern, paired with a nineteenth-century French wallpaper pattern frame. The plate measures 5.75"; 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 are more romantic, some more exotic, and some more otherworldly.