Small painted cameo possibly watercolour on bone or ivory. Oval-shaped and set in a gold-tone (not hallmarked) frame, with a loop on top so that it could be worn as a pendant. The back and inside of the leather case is lined in green velvet. The leather case is a dark green on the outside with no makers mark or initials and can be folded out to make a holder so that it could be displayed on a surface.

Notes:  This is believed to be a portrait of Mary Fanny Alexander Marshall, Lady Lodge, wife of Sir Oliver Lodge and mother of Raymond Lodge, and was painted from a photograph.

Sir Oliver Lodge and Lady Lodge became committed spiritualists following the death of their son Raymond in the First World War. They received news of his death on 17th September 1915, and just over a week later Lady Lodge consulted the world famous medium, Gladys Osborne Leonard (1882-1968). She informed Lady Lodge that Raymond had communicated with his father and told him that he had met some of his friends. It was as a result of consultations such as this that Oliver Lodge wrote his book 'Raymond, or Life and Death'. Lady Lodge died in 1929 and both she and her husband, who died in 1940, were buried at St. Michael's Church in Wiltshire, as are their eldest son (Oliver) and daughter (Violet).

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