Sometime in the 1880s, a devoted dog owner commissioned an artist named Alice Barnwell to paint her two pups. The two chihuahua mixes (?) are attentive and so lifelike. We thought these were contemporary photos at first but no, they're just photorealistic miniature works of art. Barnwell signed her work. These two beloved doggos are frozen in time, encased in a gold locket with a nice sparkly old European cut diamond.
MATERIALS: 14k gold (tests), .30ct old European cut diamond, hand painted dog portraits, glass lenses
AGE: c. 1880
CONDITION: Very good - a couple small dents; some scuffs on the glass lens over the chihuahua
SIZE: 2 1/4" length including the bale, 1 5/8" x 1 1/4" locket