22 - A late 19th century 18k gold pearl diamond mother of pearl and photo enamel portrait miniature bracelet, within it's original case.

A late 19th century 18k gold pearl diamond mother of pearl and photo enamel portrait miniature bracelet, within it's original case. Finely pierced Gothic-style bracelet with five graduated oval miniature enamelled photographic portraits of a young gentleman and his four children, each framed with small pearls or rose-cut diamonds, the reverse backed with mother-of-pearl plaques. Oval pierced box clasp decorated with foliate ornament and a central cross motif. Not hallmarked. The central portrait inscribed and dated in French on the counter-enamel. Length 16.5 cm. Width 2.0 - 3.5 cm. Weight 46.15 g. Original fitted case, the leather covering embossed with the initials “CR”. Presumably England or America, c. 1873. The technique of photo-ceramics was first patented in 1854 by the French photographers Bulot & Cattin. Their process made it possible, using a light-sensitive collodion emulsion, to transfer the details of a black-and-white photographic negative directly onto enamel or porcelain, and then fire the image onto the substrate in a kiln.