Very rare original miniature was executed in 18 century  by the artist from the circle of one of most famous  Russian miniaturists August Ritt(1765 - 1799), probably byPetr Semenovich Drozhin ( Drozhzhin, Drozhdin) (1745-1805), famous Russian portrait painter . The miniature came from German private estate , signed with difficult reading signature , which can be attributed as " Drozhdin or Drosshin". It is famous from his biography , he painted Maria Feodorovna between 1775 and 1785  ( this portrait was estated in Museum of Alexander III in St.Petersburg ). Petr Drozhin  ( 1775-1805) was renown court painter in St.Petersburg , pupil of Lewitzky. In 1785 he recieved title of academical painter and painted a number of russian portraits of royality and high society.

The personality of our portrait was determined on the basis of famous miniature of Maria Feodorovna by Augustin Ritt ( Estate : Collection of Great Herzog Wilhelm Ernst of Sachsony- Weimar - Eisenbach , see " Master miniatures from five centuries" by E.Lemberger , Stuttgart, 1911).

Inscription: signed  lower right , on the reverse - original gold monogramm of Maria Fedorovna

Technique: gouache on organic wafer. Original period  frame.(backside  -turtle, monogramin Cyrillic "MF" in gold, oval deco -  mother-of-pearl)

Measurements: unframed d 4"x 7 1/3" x  (10  cm); framed d  4 3/4" ( 12 cm ) 

Condition: in  good condition

The price was reduced from 8000 € to 6000 €!