Unknown Maker, Chinese export

As museums consider and prepare for future exhibitions, opportunities arise to acquire relevant works of art, often as word spreads of an institution's growing interest and expertise in a specific area. At the same time, research adds to specialized knowledge that may help curators identify works of art that others have overlooked. In the course of research for an exhibition on the China Trade in Rhode Island, RISD curators were able to help a London art dealer identify the subject of this miniature portrait as Captain Samuel Snow of Providence.

An 1782 graduate of Brown University, officer in the Continental Army (entitling him to wear the prominent badge of the Society of the Cincinnati), and the second U. S. Consul to Canton, Snow was one of Rhode Island's most prominent merchants, but he eventually lost his fortune and died in obscurity. Snow Street in downtown Providence marks the site of his house. Miniature portraits of Americans painted in China are rare, and this is the first object of its kind to enter the Museum's collection. Intended as a keepsake for relatives at home, the back of the locket contains a length of Snow's hair.