In its next auction series in Madrid on December 13, Subastas Segre will offer this example of an unusual entertainment that became popular around the mid-17th century.
The lot consists of a miniature painted in oil on copper embedded in an oval box, and comes with a set of 18 different costume details painted on mica plates and known as ‘talcs’. The talcs are the same size as the miniature, so the owner could mix and match them, building up layers to alter the costume on the portrait. It is unknown where miniatures such as these were manufactured, but they have been found throughout Europe, (similar examples can be seen in the Victoria and Albert Museum, London).