Marie-Antoinette (1755-93) was a daughter of Maria Theresa and the Emperor Francis I. She married the future Louis XVI of France in 1770, becoming queen four years later. She became a focus for opposition to reform and won widespread unpopularity through her extravagant lifestyle. Like her husband, she was imprisoned during the French Revolution and eventually executed in October 1793.

This portrait is based on a painting of Marie-Antoinette and her children by Élisabeth Vigée Le Brun which was exhibited at the Paris Salon in 1787. It was very popular and was often engraved and copied by miniaturists.

The identity of the artist is unknown. The miniature has previously been attributed to G. Emdin but comparison with other known works by him, for example a miniature of King Louis XVIII in the Royal Collection (RCIN 420363), reveals a very different style and characteristics.

Inscribed on the vellum backing in ink: Maria Antoinette, and in different handwriting: by Emdin.