George Washington Personal Portrait Pendant. Gold Color (unmarked as to metallic composition). 50 mm x 58 mm, excluding loop. Lightly Used Condition.One side is hand engraved with an ornate floral design surrounding a small 14 mm x 17 mm printed portrait of the "Father of our Country," while the other side is dominated by a large daguerreotype portrait of an unknown woman, probably the mother of somebody, but we dont know who! The stern-faced, middle-age woman is wearing a close fitting bonnet, and has had her cheeks very lightly hand tinted in pink. Daguerreotypes will tarnish if exposed to the air, so they were typically sealed under glass, and it is expected to find characteristic reflective tarnishing around the edges, as on this piece. The daguerreotype process was developed in the 1840s, but by the end of the next decade it had been replaced by cheaper, superior photographic techniques, so it is safe to say that this piece dates to the pre-Civil War period.From Early American History, Inc.s Mail Bid Auction of October 2017, lot 168. Lot tag included.
