James Barroll
This handsome miniature depicts James Barroll, whose daughter married Lewis Washington, a great-grand-nephew of George Washington. The elaborate verso incorporates Barroll’s monogram and a lock of his hair, seed pearls and goldwork suggesting sheaves of wheat into a stylized design surrounded by cobalt glass. Hair was incorporated into miniatures as a memento of love or loss, particularly in the early 19th century. The locket was likely intended for the sitter’s wife and the sheaves of wheat—a common symbol—as a representation of love. Perhaps it was created as a keepsake when just after their marriage Barroll served as an officer in the War of 1812, fighting with the First Baltimore Hussars in the Battle of North Point in 1814.
The portrait is housed in its original case. The front of the case is a simple oval of rose gold with an integral suspension ring. The case has a decorative reverse with Barroll’s monogram letters ornamented with seed pearls, together with a lock of his hair, and goldwork suggesting sheaves of wheat, all on an opalescent white glass or lacquer and ringed by an internal band of rose gold, surrounded by rich cobalt glass and another band of rose gold.