Ambrotype Portrait of a Young Woman
Photography
Inventory number
2022.6.15.9.PH.VI.C1855.FRDescription
Collodion positive on glass representing a young woman wearing a crinoline dress composed on matching skirt and structured jacket bodice with a basque waist, and buttons down the center front. A V-shaped bodice decoration spreads from the center waist to the outer edges of the dropped shoulders and is lined with passementerie trim in fringe which also decorates the pagoda sleeves. The girl is wearing light undersleeves called “engageantes” that are puffed and closed at the wrist. Around her neck is a wide lace collar and bow. The woman’s hair is middle-parted, curled over her ears, and pinned behind the nape of her neck with a braided lock across the top of her head.The glass negative photograph is placed against a dark background creating a positive image. The image is enclosed in an ornate brass case and set in a wood and mesh burgundy frame. The photograph has been manually retouched with applied pigments to the surface of the plate. A pink hue was added to the necktie with ten black scribbled marks make polka dots on the bow. A blue pigment colors in the girl’s dress, and gold highlights her ring and the center of the bow.
Materials
AmbrotypeBrass
Glass
leather
Velvet
Origin
circa 1855 FranceDimensions
Width : 1 cmLength : 8 cm
Height : 9 cm