Zachary Taylor: Most Unusual Lacquered Wood Jewelry Box with Reverse-on-Glass Portrait....

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Zachary Taylor: Most Unusual Lacquered Wood Jewelry Box with Reverse-on-Glass Portrait. A full face reverse-on-glass military portrait of Taylor has been inset in the center of the lid on this most unusual box, which is elaborately painted and inlaid with mother-of-pearl flowers on the four corners of the lid. Overall display condition is excellent, although the reverse-on-glass image suffers from some typical paint flaking. Fortunately this occurred mostly in the background, with one notable chip on Taylor's coat, and the face is largely intact. While the box is quite display-worthy in its present state, there is no doubt that a skilled restorer could greatly improve the appearance of the reverse-on-glass painting. We have seen these oval reverse portraits of Taylor decorating a variety of smaller objects, but this is the first in this form that we have encountered. A beautiful Victorian artifact. The box itself measures 10.25" x 7.75" x 4.25", while the portrait is 1.875" x 2.25".