Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1895-02-12
WHAT'S IN A FRAME3
Valuable Miniatures If the Owner is
Up to Date.

Up to Date.
From the New York Herald.
1t is certainly the fashion to collect min
iatures. If one does not have her own
portrait painted or the portrait of some
relative, why, then, she must go in for col
lecting ancient miniatures. The more she
can get together the better. Whether set
as brooches or as bracelets. or in frames
to be kept on glass-topped miniature tables.
it matters little: miniatures one must have
If one wishes to be in the fashion.
Very beautiful are some of those set in
precious stones, and row of diamonds or
pearls, or diamonds and pearls combined,
bring out the beauty of the colors and the
painting in the most charming manner.
The rim of jewels Is the favorite fashion.
but there is what they call star setting.
which means points of enameled gold. be-
tween which are set jewels, and these
also are very much the rage. 1t Is very
difficult to buy what one wants already
finished. The jewelers. do not keep large
stock on hand, and prefer to execute
orders, as they are. decided luxuries, these
miniature and jewel frames, and 1t is not
to be wondered at that great quantities Of
them are not put upon the market.
The words miniature frames cover a
great variety. In the terms are included
the tiny silver. gold and enameled frames
which are sold for small photographs. The
favorite pattern In these small frames is
forget-me-nots, and the design Is very ar
tistically worked out They are made to
stand on table or mantel shelf, or wher-
ever one prefers. They are also made of
rhine stones. but this last is not new
fashion. The miniature frames themselves
are often works of art, and in many cases
are veritable antiques. They are in differ
ent shapes, square round and oval, made
either to stand or with little loop, so they
can be hung up. On many of them only a
tiny rim Of dull gold is to be seen, as
though it were intended the frame itself
should not be beautiful enough to distract
the attention from the painting. In other
cases. particularly If 1t is Of any larger
size. there is beading or tracery Of gilt
on the frame and if the miniature be that
Of some royal parsonage, crown or coat
of arms, also in the gilt, Is at the top OF
the frame. One of the favorite shapes,
which is copied very much now In the mod
ern limitations. is the oval, made to look
like the fiat lockets which are popular.
This is generally made of dull, red gold
and has loop through which ribbon could
be run, If any one cared to such
very large thing as an ornament. The
small ones Of this fashion, of course, are
often utilized in that manner. The square
frames have also waving lines and much
ornamented corners. and sometimes hand
some bits Of enameling. Curiously enough,
a valuable miniature, an antique, is rarely
to be found in a handsome frame, and yet
no connoisseur would ever dream of sep
arating the two
When miniatures are set in bracelets they
are almost invariably set in small bril-
liants, very thickly clustered together, and
while pearls are very handsome for this
purpose, they are perhaps not effective
as the diamonds, which have so much bril-
liancy in themselves. Set in this fashion
as the center of a gold bracelet many wo-
men have the portraits of their children.
Sometimes two little heads are put together
on the one round piece But in this case
the diamond setting has some more elabor-
ate fashioning than merely simple circle.
While the children's faces look very sweet
and pretty, the portraits Of the celebrated
women of olden time seem perhaps more
suitable for that purpose. Indeed, after
ALL miniatures are more beautiful and far
more satisfactory when regarded as minia-
lures and not as ornaments.