Changing Identities: 17th-Century Netherlandish Miniatures

by Jasper Martens 

Thanks to the generosity of the Decorative Arts Trust, I received the DARTS grant in support of my summer research on Netherlandish miniature portraits with costumed mica overlays. These objects share a uniform visual language and were produced within a relatively short span during the 1630s and 1640s. These little-studied objects are primarily female portraits accompanied by about 20 translucent overlays depicting a wide range of costumes, both male and female, that often reference distinct geographical identities and social and economic roles, ranging from merchants, farmers, and Polish noblemen to turbaned figures, nuns, and cardinals. They have attracted little scholarly attention because they are regarded merely as interactive games and not considered works of art. Many remain in storage, undigitized, and rarely exhibited. This grant allowed me to study these fragile objects directly at museums in the Netherlands, France, and England.

The chance to handle the overlays and place them on top of the portraits as originally intended provided crucial insights into their materiality and interactive qualities (figure 1). This handling also taught me about varying institutions’ collections care policies: some require gloves, others use bare hands or a protective sheet, while a private collector in the Netherlands used tweezers, which proved the safest method.

Through close engagement with the objects, discussions with curators, and comparisons with contemporary portraiture, I was able to deepen my understanding of the miniatures’ role in early modern visual culture. Whereas earlier scholarship estimated the existence of about 40 such sets,¹ my research has already identified over 100, with more continuing to surface.

What fascinates me most is how the simple act of changing a sitter’s costume transforms their identity, allowing these miniatures to function as imaginative explorations of social roles and hierarchies. Many overlays also include accessories that signal status through modes of consumption. For instance, a set in Musée National Renaissance in Écouen, France, includes an overlay depicting a richly dressed male merchant with a neatly trimmed goatee, an expensive leather hat with a white feather, and a Venetian-style glass of wine (figure 2), whereas another features a more modestly dressed figure with messy hair, a less expensive garment, and a tankard (figure 3). These overlays thus articulate not only costume but also patterns of consumption, linking identity to material culture.

This exploration of different identities, both local and foreign, fits within the turbulent context of the Dutch Republic in the 1600s. The Republic was amassing great wealth through colonial trade, with Amsterdam often described as the storehouse of the world. The city attracted visitors and residents from across Europe and beyond, exposing its inhabitants to a wide variety of costumes, traditions, and social practices. These international visitors also appear in the costumed overlays. Most extant sets include an overlay depicting a turbaned figure who wears the traditional costume from places such as the powerful Ottoman empire (figures 4 and 5). Much like contemporary costume books, the mica overlays invited viewers to interactively explore diverse cultures and the social hierarchies they represented.

These miniatures remain mysterious, with little known about their makers, owners, or the women they depict. Given their relatively low quality and repetitive nature, it is unlikely they were crafted by specialized miniaturists. Instead, their value seems to lie more in their playfulness than in their artistry. Therefore, the figures are not intended to represent specific individuals, but rather a generalized female type. Most of these miniatures feature similar figures (figures 6 and 7). I believe these images may be examples of a tronie, a term for a type of Dutch 17th-century painting that is not a formal portrait, but a study of facial expressions or character traits. Unlike a traditional portrait, a tronie does not aim to capture the likeness of a specific person.

While my object-based research supported by the DARTS grant has provided invaluable insights, further archival and theoretical research is needed to deepen my understanding of these objects. I am especially intrigued by how these objects invite reflection not only on the interchangeability of identity but also on the viewer’s own place within society. For example, what does the possibility of cross-dressing mean in this context? Even though I am still working through these questions, I believe these objects demonstrate the makeability of identity and gender in the early modern world through playful yet complex acts of interaction. I am very excited to continue studying these fascinating objects. 

1. Evelyn Ackerman, “Costume Is the Key: Seventeenth Century Miniature Portraits with Costume Overlays.” Dress 34 no. 1 (2007): 61–77, doi:10.1179/036121107805252926.

Jasper Martens is a PhD student in History of Art and Architecture at the University of California Santa Barbara. Jasper will present his findings in January 2026 at the Decorative Arts Trust’s Emerging Scholars Colloquium in New York City and in February 2026 at the Renaissance Society of America Conference in San Francisco.

A print version of this article was published in The Magazine of the Decorative Arts Trust, one of our most popular member benefits. Join today!