Tintype Photograph Civil War Painted Eyes Post Mortem Mourning Woman Lace Cap

Description

View Tintype Photograph Civil War Painted Eyes Post Mortem Mourning Woman Lace Cap with current marketplace pricing, condition, product images and item details. Because the subject was photographed with naturally closed eyelids, a skilled period darkroom artisan utilized a fine pen and ink to manually paint pupils and irises directly onto the surface of the final iron plate, creating the iconic, flat, and arresting gaze highly sought after by advanced photography specialists. Approximate overall size is 2 1/2" x 3.5" Look at the provided photos for condition. If you have any questions, be sure to ask before buying.  Additional photo purchases ship for free.  This extraordinary American Civil War era antique loose raw tintype (ferrotype) photograph captures a deeply profound and historically significant full-length seated portrait of an unidentified woman. Crucially, the absolute hallmark of this artifact is its definitive status as a rare "Painted-Eye" Victorian post-mortem (memento mori) mourning portrait. Because the subject was photographed with naturally closed eyelids, a skilled period darkroom artisan utilized a fine pen and ink to manually paint pupils and irises directly onto the surface of the final iron plate, creating the iconic, flat, and arresting gaze highly sought after by advanced photography specialists. Her head rests slightly back with a stiff jaw line, captured in a high-status full-length pose inside a classic bentwood hoop-back rocking chair prop over a wood plank floor. She is elegantly styled in formal homefront apparel of the mid-1860s, wearing a dark caped shawl jacket layered over a finely detailed, patterned floral calico day dress skirt. Her hair is beautifully adorned with an intricate, crown-like floral lace cap wreath anchored under her chin by an exceptionally wide, long dark silk ribbon sash. The portrait is captured on its original raw iron plate base without a paper mount wrapper. The dark japanned lacquer reverse side is completely blank and displays authentic hand-snipped corners performed post-exposure by the photographer using darkroom bench shears, with a prominent sharp angled crop along the upper left corner margin. Both sides feature natural age-appropriate silver nitrate chemical pooling spots, light edge lacquer flaking, and standard surface handling scuffs consistent with a genuine mid-nineteenth-century metal photographic artifact. This specimen remains completely raw and un-restored. Loose format raw tintypes provide an incredibly tactile and intimate look into the pioneering days of traveling American photography. Genuine wartime plates documenting explicit mourning iconography, hand-painted retouching artistry, and authentic hand-sheared edges remain actively collected today among Civil War historians, medical archivists, and material culture researchers. This specific plate represents an extraordinary, museum-grade centerpiece of 1860s darkroom showmanship. Condition: Used. Category: Collectibles › Photographic Images › Photographs.

Type

Photograph

Format

Carte de Visite (CDV)

Subject

Figures & Portraits

Country of Origin

United States