LOT Old Heritage Auctions  /  2006 Dec Signature Civil War Auction #642  / 

25413

Virginia Melainotype of Slave With Family

Currency:USD Category:Collectibles Start Price:1,250.00 USD Estimated At:5,000.00 - 7,000.00 USD
Virginia Melainotype of Slave With Family
<B>Rare Melainotype Portrait Of A Virginia Family With Their Slave Nursemaid.</B></I> This horizontal 1/4th plate melainotype, ca. 1860, surfaced in Virginia's Shenandoah Valley. It shows a young white couple beside a slave nursemaid who cradles their child. Whereas the proud parents exude an upper-middle class aura of satisfaction, their servant's attitude is a strange blend of defiance and resignation. Within a very few years of this sitting, Phil Sheridan's Union cavalry would sweep away slavery in the Valley. This image, therefore, truly documents the end of an era. Note that it is subtly tinted with pink flesh tones and light blue in the fields. Housed in a Union case behind a brass mat and glass. The lid of the case is molded with a tableaux of Cupid defeating a wounded stag (Krainik 36). Minute chips to case, else overall excellent condition. Ex. William Turner, author of <I>Even More Confederate Faces</B></I>.<BR><BR><b>Shipping:</b> Small Collectibles (<a target="_blank" href="http://www.heritageauctions.com/common/shipping.php">view shipping information</a>)
Sign In to Bookmark Lot