Completed in 1635, this relic-like work, full of meticulous precision and just under six centimetres high, is thought to be the earliest depiction of a Black sitter in a Western European miniature portrait. The prince, shown wearing European court dress to highlight his royal status, had fled to Europe after the murder of his father, the King of Ethiopia (while in Rome, he was thought to have had an affair with a Franciscan nun!). A favourite aspect of this gem of a piece is its back, illustrating the likely friendship between the prince and Garzoni, where the artist’s name is embossed in
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