18th C American Wax Framed Portrait of John Paul Jones

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For your consideration...American , Later 18th century.

Painted wax profile portraits of John Paul Jones
Set into Black Enamel Shadowboxes … Read more For your consideration...American , Later 18th century.

Painted wax profile portraits of John Paul Jones
Set into Black Enamel Shadowboxes with the wax portraits hand painted in polychrom
Measures 6.5" x5" x1"

in good condition age and patina delightfully present

In very good antique condition some age and wear to the frame
The physical properties of wax have made it one of the most invaluable of all the artist materials. As a sculptor’s material in particular it has had various uses. As it is so easy to vary the consistency of wax by heat and by the addition of hardeners, plasticizers and solvents, it is possible to work it in all the traditional techniques of sculpture: modeling, casting, and carving. Wax is a very tractable material, permitting corrections, changes or additions to the design at any stage. This makes it an ideal modeling material, and the subtlety and translucency of it’s sculpted surface make it perfect for small scale, highly finished sculpture.

We have THREE different portraits available...IF your interested in the others let us know.

Wax was used as a direct modeling material in ancient civilizations. There are few ancient cultures around the world that did not at some point use wax to make tablets that were inscribed upon with a stylus, votive figures for religious ceremony, or amulets for protection or sympathetic magic. Wax has always had a place in metal casting, both as a model making material for mould making and also in the lost wax process. Jewelers and medallion modellers have used it because of the fineness of detail it permits and because of the ease with which such models can be cast in metal. In wax portraiture, artists found that with pigmented waxes they could render color, texture and detail of flesh, hair draperies in a high realistic manner. Because the art was reserved to aristocracy, jewels and precious metals were incorporated into these miniature masterpieces. Miniature portraits were intended to be viewed in intimate settings. They were popular gifts in noble and bourgeois circles, allowing the giver to establish a close personal connection with the recipient. Portrait medallions of royal rulers, on the other hand, primarily served political purposes or dynastic interests, by legitimising the claim of rulers, disseminating the image of the sovereign and ensuring that it would survive beyond their death. The process of creating a miniature portrait could be achieved by implementing 2 two very different techniques; by casting the sculpture in wax from a mould and then painting the details with colored waxes, or by direct wax modelling, a process that involved sculpting the image with colored wax putty. There is evidence that both of these techniques were used in studying miniature portraits that have survived. less See less