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Lover's Eye locket

ca. 1840
On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 099
Miniature paintings in watercolor on ivory, of a single eye, were introduced first in France and quickly became a fad in Great Britain in the late eighteenth-century. This art form later transferred, in a modest way, to the United States by the early nineteenth-century. They came to be known as “lover’s eyes” –- intensely private objects, usually of the giver’s eye presented to a loved one. The disembodied eye allowed the viewer to gaze upon the object of their affection, known only to them, and then, actively, the gaze was returned. Eye miniatures also served as mourning jewelry for lost loved ones.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Lover's Eye locket
  • Date: ca. 1840
  • Culture: Probably British
  • Medium: Watercolor miniature on ivory set in a gold locket with blue enamel, seed pearls, stones, and hair
  • Dimensions: 2 1/2 × 1 13/16 in. (6.4 × 4.6 cm)
  • Credit Line: Dale T. Johnson Fund, 2024
  • Object Number: 2024.227
  • Curatorial Department: The American Wing

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