Stored safely in a medallion cabinet in the reserves of Hôtel Turgot in Paris, theFondation Custodia's collection of portrait miniatures leads an existence hiddenaway from the public eye. This exquisite, two volume publication gives access to thisdistinguished collection for the first time.

Frits Lugt (1884¿1970) had a passion for miniatures that began early on in his life. Hedemonstrated it in the small but ardent Le portrait-miniature of 1917, the year in which hebought the first portrait miniature for his collection. Since then it has been constantlyenriched, and now numbers more than 100 works by artists from Great Britain, the LowCountries, France, Germany, Italy, Denmark and Switzerland, covering the period fromthe sixteenth to the nineteenth centuries.Thanks to the expertise of specialist Karen Schaffers-Bodenhausen, who has studiedthe growing collection in recent years with great dedication and patience, we now havethis first catalogue of the portrait miniatures in the Frits Lugt Collection, FondationCustodia, Paris.In addition to a foreword by director Ger Luijten, the first volume containsdetailed descriptions and exhaustive analyses of the portraits, their attributions, andidentifications of the sitters. The author also examines the techniques employedand sets out to establish a date for each portrait. The volume closes with a table ofconcordance, a detailed index of proper names and a comprehensive bibliography.Comparative illustrations are incorporated in the descriptions. The second volume hascolour plates of all the works in the collection, almost all of them full size, and concludeswith reproductions of the backs of the miniatures if they provide additional supportinginformation.