Featured Identification: Large Hand Painted Victorian Brooch

Large antique hand painted portrait brooch. The photo shows a half dollar next to brooch to give an idea of size. I've tried looking on Google to get some information on origin, era or anything. Any assistance once again would be greatly appreciated.

Wedding?
Communion?
Value?

I would also like to thank everyone in this group for all your help. This is a great group of knowledgeable members. Thanks.

 

It looks like she's wearing coral and a very old school wedding veil. The corals indicate youth, btw.

 

Is it painted on porcelain? The squiggly design in the background looks 'Nippon-ish' with that 'coral' pattern that can be seen on some old Nippon porcelain pieces.

It's very elegant and the lady in the portrait is beautiful. Maybe she's someone famous and this is a commemorative brooch.

 

You might want to post a picture of the other end of the clasp to help determine age (kind of looks like a tube clasp, but it's hard to tell as it's fuzzy).

Any thing imprinted on the inside of the frame? It looks possibly like sterling.

 

Hello, yes it is painted on porcelain. I would love to find out who she is

 

Could not find any markings. I will take another photo. Thank you

 

Hm. I'm seeing dots, so possibly printed.

 

I have a very large monitor and I think the dots you are seeing are actually the texture of the surface it is on. I see very well on my screen an area where light is reflected that is showing a texture on the porcelain a bit like a rough spot on an egg. Definitely in the porcelain and not dots from being printed if that is what you noticed. I spend hours scrutinizing watch movements and have an overly large crisp monitor for fine details. It is a lovely piece and well outside my area of expertise beyond that.

 

Yes, it looks like a tube hinge. The pin is not too long, so probably early 1900s.
It is unusual for a bride to wear coral, the coral bead necklace probably indicates what I call a 'coral wearing country'. Of those, we can rule out the Netherlands, it is not a Dutch necklace. Which leaves western and central Mediterranean Europe, and parts of Imperial Russia (including Ukraine).
This brooch doesn't have a Mediterranean feel. I am leaning towards Imperial Russia, they are very good miniature painters.

 

The headress looks Greek or Russian Orthodox.

 

A Greek headdress isn't usually that close to the face. A Russian headdress would be a kokoshnik (like the silver marks):

Greek traditional bride, there are regional differences. No coral bead neclace though, it is not one of the 'coral wearing countries':

But a Russian or Greek bride 1900-1910 could follow western European fashion. I have seen pictures of fashionable western brides of the period wearing their veil in a similar way to the girl on the miniature.

 

The corals were often English if you go back far enough; that's what I was thinking at least. Bear might know better.

 

My British sister-in-law wouldn't wear coral (one of our family necklaces) on her wedding day, she wore pearls.
I think it would be very unusual for a bride in a country where red coral is not part of regional dress. In what I call the 'coral wearing countries' coral jewellery is part of the regional/national dress. The coral would always be Mediterranean coral.

 

Coral is indeed very traditional here. It was a thing for a girl baby to be gifted with a coral necklace, cross and chain and a pearl necklace. Not quite so much for weddings though, pearls were the thing. Purity and all that. My gut feel is that she isn't a Brit.

 

Coral was worn in all continents, it is just that in some regions coral necklaces were mandatory, and everyday wear. That is what I mean by the 'coral wearing countries'. In those countries a traditional bride would also wear coral on her wedding day.
A couple from Arnemuiden, Zeeland, The Netherlands:


Ladies from Ukraine:

 

The corals are nice, but those hair/hat ornaments are killer!

 

I know! Those are just the finials, they are attached to an 'oorijzer', a gold or silver brace that goes around the head. It is a means of keeping the lace cap on the head in those windy Dutch coastal areas. You can see big gold filigree pins on the sides, those go through holes in the oorijzer.
There is more on oorijzers in this thread:
https://www.antiquers.com/threads/wooden-dolls.17788/#post-243467

 

Now that's an antique with one single purpose. I don't know what we'd do with one here, but I'm sure my cat would figure something out if allowed.

 

I immediately thought of this photo of actress Mary Anderson as Juliet. Although I don't think the artistic representation really looks like her, the clothing is very similar.

I swiped these two from Pinterest pages online. The photographer was Mora, and one of the sites said it was from 1884. She played Juliet during more than one tour and I'd have to do some research to figure out which one.

Mary Anderson was an extremely popular American theatrical actress in the 1870s and 1880s. She was also popular in England. I've read a lot about her life. A different photo of her was the first one in my theatrical photo collection.

 

Information about the photographer Jose Maria Mora:

http://broadway.cas.sc.edu/content/jose-maria-mora