The exceptional collection of miniatures held by the National Gallery of Ireland is for the first time made widely known with this publication. With an essay on the history and technique of miniature painting in Ireland, where it flourished particularly well, the book contains an astonishing variety of miniatures in watercolour as well as enamel, made for all sorts of purposes – lovers’ keepsakes, memorials of great men, portraits of great actresses (like Hone’s fine miniature of Sarah Siddons).