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This unsigned 19th century portrait miniature shows a man in a uniform but I am not sure which country it belongs to?(by identifying the nationality of the uniform I am hoping it might help me with narrowing down the field for the artist).

I am guessing by his hair style etc this miniature dates to around the 1820's or 1830's. I notice besides the epaulettes and aiguillette he is wearing, the sitter has a small group of medals along the neckline of the jacket. The central one seems to be a red Maltese cross and I wondered if this might be a St Stanislaus cross and therefore perhaps the uniform is Russian or Polish?

I did try to research this but there are so many variables that I felt I needed to reach out to those who are more expert in this field and may have a greater insight into the nuances of uniforms (Of course, with regards to the medal, it may also be artistic licence of the artist as the detail is so small and they may have just wanted to get the effect of a bronze cross or the like and used red instead) The miniature is housed in a gold frame with a lovely hard stone panel to the back as shown. Front of miniature and frameRear of miniature and frameEnlarged view of man in uniform

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    That's a Prussian uniform.
    – Jos
    Commented Feb 18 at 6:35
  • Thank you Jos, that has been a very helpful answer. In fact it has led me off on another tangent as in researching the Prussian military I have come across a man called Carl von Clausewitz. Interestingly if you look at the various portraits of him there are some similarities between this portrait and others of him. I doubt there is any way to confirm it but it is an interesting thought.
    – hunter121
    Commented Feb 19 at 6:04
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    @Jos The Prussian colors were black and white. The Hanseatic League were red and white. The North German Confederation flag was a combination of both (black, white, red) since 1867. The background of the Gorget patches (Kragenspiegel) in Prussia the were simply red. After WW1 the background color was based on the branch of the army you were in.
    – Mark Johnson
    Commented Feb 19 at 7:43

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Looks like a Prussian uniform.

See image at William I, German Emperor - Wikipedia

Early life and military career: Prince Wilhelm at age 13, c. 1810

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  • Thanks Mark, really appreciate your answer and with links and pictures. I wonder what your thoughts are on the likeness of this portrait to others of Carl Von Clausewitz? Yours and Jos answers led me to research Prussian military and I came across a number of portraits of the famous strategist which have some likeness to the portrait miniature above. As i said to Jos there is probably no way to prove it but it is an interesting thought. Thanks again
    – hunter121
    Commented Feb 19 at 6:12

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