George Washington French Sulphide Portrait Medallion

Desprez, Paris, circa 1815–1825

Diameter: 2¾ inches.

A finely molded white sulphide portrait of George Washington in profile, encased within a substantial clear glass medallion. The reverse bears the impressed inscription “DESPREZ, Rue des Récollets No. 9, à Paris,” followed by “WASHINGTON,” identifying the Parisian maker and subject. The sharply modeled profile is presented in relief against the clear glass ground.

French sulphide portraits of Washington reflect the continued European interest in the American Revolutionary generation during the early nineteenth century. Related Washington portrait medallions are represented in the Bayou Bend Collection of the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, and the Smithsonian Institution's National Portrait Gallery. The inscribed Parisian address provides a particularly useful detail in documenting this example.

Condition: Excellent.