Bust portrait of Countess Crescence Széchenyi, née von Seilern und Aspang (1799-1875) was executed around 1815-1825 by most famous Austrian miniature painter Moritz Daffinger (1790 - 1849). For comparison see additional photo with portrait miniature on ivory of the same person and the same artist from the collection of Philipp Freiherr von Fahnenberg, 1898.

Countess Crescence Széchenyi, née von Seilern und Aspang (1799–1875) was a prominent Austrian-Hungarian noblewoman celebrated for her highly publicized romance with the prominent Hungarian reformer Count István Széchenyi, whose life and career she heavily influenced.

Early Life: Born Maria Crescentia Caroline Maximiliana on March 13, 1799, in Brno (Brünn), Austrian Empire, to Count Karl Jacob August von Seilern und Aspang and Maximiliane Gräfin Wurmbrand.

• First Marriage: In 1819, she married Count Karl Zichy von Vasonykeö, with whom she had seven children. 
• The Széchenyi Romance: Following Count Zichy's passing, she married the famed Hungarian statesman and "Greatest Hungarian," Count István Széchenyi, in 1836. Their lengthy, passionate affair and subsequent marriage remain a celebrated romance in Hungarian history.
• Legacy: She was an intellectual muse and supported Széchenyi's modernization projects across the Hungarian Kingdom. She passed away on July 30, 1875, in Nagycenk, Hungary, where she is laid to rest with the Széchenyi family.

Literature: Emil Pirchan "Moritz Michael Daffinger", Miniaturmaler des Vormärz"; "Nachlass des Miniaturmalers M.M. Daffinger", Wawra, auction catal. 22.April 1921; Dr.Nora Keil "Die Miniaturen der Albertina in Wien", 1977; Prof.H.Fuchs "Dictionary of Austrian artists", Vienna, 1975; biography of the sitter is  in on-line Wikipedia.

Inscription: signed on the edge lower right, on the on the reverse - inscription with name of sitter and the name of the artist. 

Technique: watercolour on paper, original period gilt wood frame.

Measurements: unframed only image in oval w 2 3/8" x h 3 " (6 x 7,5 cm), framed w 4 1/8" x h 5 1/4 " (10,3 x 13,4 cm)

Condition: in good condition.