Sixth Plate

DID HE KNOW? Before archival restoration of the lady’s fine sixth plate piece, I was almost convinced that instead of folds and shadows in an old cloth hung behind her, someone had actually painted a minimalist appearing landscape scene with gently rolling waves in the foreground and the landmass at the subject’s shoulder height. Any snickering from you and I find out, well you will immediately be expunged from my clients list! I am past that fantasy and have moved on to the peculiar repetitive designs on the tablecloth. I haven’t seen that cover previously. Then my attention was drawn to the book title. “History of American . . . Mission” is what I can easily ascertain. Below the title I deciphered “Gamm . . .” The slender tome on top was boldly embossed and there are a few letters too. Since I always study a person’s hands, I noticed three golden rings painted on the sitter’s fingers, where there weren’t any actual pieces of jewelry. More gold was applied to a brooch (that wasn’t there either) on her lace collar. By now, I am beginning to wonder about that “scene” again! The lace about her dark dress and her blouse’s cuffs were solarized pale blue, when in fact if the exposure had been perfect and the maker’s chemistry in order, they would have been bright white! There are feathery lines scattered around the silver and teeny mat marks in a couple areas. The woman wore a decorative black lace hair ornament. The leather case is in two parts.