Handpainted Lacquer Jewelry: Art Nouveau Portrait

This hand-painted lacquered miniature is a portrait by the renowned late 19th Century Art Nouveau painter, Alphonse Mucha. This highly stylized beauty has masses of rosy-gold curls and an art nouveau gown.  The black onyx pendant (1-3/4" x 3/4") is under-lit with a layer of luminous gold foil and then painstakingly covered with many more layers of oil paint, egg tempura, gold foil, and lacquer to create the rich dramatic effect.  The pendant, crowned with a 14K gold rondel and 24K Swarovski crystal, hangs from a hand-knotted strand of beautiful white pearls and two 24K amethyst-heliotrope Venetian glass beads. 18"