P. Bonnaud Limoges Enamel Portrait, Russian-Dressed Maiden, Gilt Frame

She faces left in strict profile, auburn hair loose down her back, coral beads braided into it — and on her head, a kokoshnik: the high, fan-shaped Russian ceremonial headdress, this one rendered in deep violet and gold with finely painted foliate embroidery climbing its crown. The cobalt ground behind her is the deep, airless blue that Limoges enamellers alone knew how to fire. Her lace-shouldered gown reads teal and pale aqua; the shadows in the fabric have actual weight. P. Bonnaud signed the front in two places — "P. Bonnaud" at left, "Limoges" at lower right — and then signed the copper verso as well: "P. Bonnaud / Limoges." A craftsman who signed his work three times was not hedging.

The medium is painted enamel on copper, the Limoges tradition that traces back to the 15th century and reached its second flowering in the hands of late 19th-century workshop masters working in historicist and Orientalist modes. Bonnaud's use of the Russian kokoshnik as costume likely dates the plaque to the turn of the 20th century, when Russian-inflected Romanticism ran through European decorative arts in the wake of the Ballets Russes and the broader Slavic Revival in fashion and ornament. The plaque is secured to its oak backboard with the characteristic gilt cross-tab mounting system and presented in an ornate oval gilt wood and plaster frame with full fruit, grape, and foliate cresting — a frame that was made for exactly this kind of object.

Limoges has been the center of French enamel production since the medieval period, but the tradition of émail peint sur cuivre — painted enamel on copper — was revived and codified during the Renaissance by masters such as Léonard Limosin, and then again in the 19th century as collectors and institutions rediscovered the medium. By the 1880s and 1890s, a cohort of Limoges enamellers was producing cabinet-scale portrait plaques — single figures in Renaissance or Orientalist dress, set against deep jewel grounds — for the European and American luxury market. These were not factory goods. Each plaque required multiple firings, layered enamels, and hand-painting at a scale that demanded the control of a miniaturist. P. Bonnaud was among the practitioners of this school; the triple signature — twice on the face, once on the copper verso — reflects both professional pride and the commercial reality that attribution mattered to buyers then as it does now.

The kokoshnik subjects are among the more distinctive within the Limoges portrait plaque genre — less common than the generic Renaissance belle, and more visually arresting for the contrast of the geometric headdress against the deep cobalt ground. Bonnaud's draftsmanship on the embroidery of the headdress alone — those gold and violet foliate arabesques rendered in fired enamel at this scale — is the kind of detail that rewards looking closely. The gilt frame, despite its condition issues, is period-appropriate and correct in scale. This is a complete, coherent object: signed artist, documented city, correct medium, period frame.

CONDITION

Enamel plaque grades Very Good, with strong, saturated color and gloss throughout; minor scattered surface scratches and light dust pitting to the cobalt ground are apparent under raking light but do not interrupt the image. The gilt wood and plaster frame grades Good: plaster losses and chipping to the ornamental cresting, and a separation crack at the inner molding near the top cartouche. Signatures are clear and fully legible on both the obverse and the copper verso.

DIMENSIONS / SPECIFICATIONS

• Overall (framed): 17 1/2" H × 13" W × 4" D
• Visible enamel: 7" H × 4 1/2" W
• Medium: Painted enamel on copper
• Support: Oak panel with gilt cross-tab mounting
• Frame: Gilt wood and plaster, oval with fruit and foliate cresting
• Signed: "P. Bonnaud" and "Limoges" (obverse); "P. Bonnaud / Limoges" (copper verso)