In Greek myths, Io was the daughter of Inachus, the first king of Argos, and she was a priestess of Hera.  Zeus (Jupiter was his Roman name), the king of the gods and Hera’s husband, fell in love with her, as a result of which she suffered disturbing dreams. Hera turned Io into a white heifer and sent the herdsman Argus, who had eyes all over his body, to watch over her, and a gadfly to sting her continuously so that she would not rest long enough for Zeus to make love to her. Zeus sent Hermes, the messenger of the gods, to kill Argus, but Io was then haunted by his ghost and forced by the gadfly to keep moving. Various places she passed on her travels were named after her, including the Ionian sea and the Bosphorus (ox ford). Eventually, she reached Egypt where Zeus changed her back into human form, touched her with his hand, and she conceived their son Epaphus (he of the touch). According to one version of the myth, Io was worshipped in Egypt as the goddess Isis.

The miniature is a copy by Henry Bone (1755-1834) of Henry Thomson’s copy of Jupiter and Io by Correggio, at the time in the Belvedere Palace and now in the Kunsthistorisches Museum, both in Vienna. Bone was born in Truro in Cornwall, the son of a woodcarver and cabinet maker, and began his artistic career painting on china for local manufacturers. In about 1779, he moved to London, where he became established as one of the most outstanding enamellists of his day. His children and grandchildren also became miniaturists. He painted designs for lockets, watches and jewellery. He was principally a copyist and his large-scale enamels were based on paintings by Old Masters and leading contemporary artists. He exhibited over 240 items at the Royal Academy between 1781 and 1832, when his eyesight began to fail. He was appointed enamel painter to the future George IV in 1801, before holding the same position to George III from 1809, and later George IV and William IV. Bone could obtain top prices for his work – in 1811 he received 2,200 guineas for his framed Bacchus and Ariadne. He was described by a contemporary as a ‘worthy, kind, liberal and affectionate man’.

The miniature is signed and dated on the lower left HBone / 1801, and inscribed by the artist on the reverse in black paint: Painted by Henry Bone (Febr 1801) / Enamel Painter to His Royal Highness / the Prince of Wales, after a Copy / by Henry Thomson from Correggio / in the Imperial Gallery of the / Belvedere at Vienna. –