Miniature Portrait of John Jay (1745-1829)

Miniature Portrait of John Jay (1745-1829)

unknown

1780-1830

This miniature Battersea enamelware portrait depicts New York statesman and diplomat John Jay. He participated in both Continental Congresses, helping to draft the “Address to the People of Great Britain,” which justified the American Revolution. After the war, he was elected to the APS and became secretary for foreign affairs. Battersea enamelware is named for the London neighborhood where such pieces, usually showing portraits on small trinkets or jewelry, were originally produced. The portrait was modeled after an often-copied original by Pierre Eugène Du Simitière, an artist, antiquary, and APS member.

American Philosophical Society. Gift of Elizabeth Chambers, October 1956.