An Alabama exhibition highlights historical love tokens so
mysterious we still don't know whom they depict SLIDE SHOW In
the 18th and 19th centuries, wealthy British and European lovers
exchanged “eye miniatures” — love tokens so clandestine that
even now, in the majority of cases, it is impossible to identify
their recipients or the people they depict. Experts believe that
there are fewer than 1,000 “lover’s eyes” in existence today. Of
that small surviving hoard, the largest single collection
belongs to the Skiers of Birmingham, Ala. David Skier, an eye
surgeon, and his wife, Nan, have been collecting “lover’s eyes”
for decades — and their collection will go on display for the
first time ever at the Birmingham Museum of Art next month. Over
the phone, curator Dr. Graham Boettcher outlined the history and
uses of these petite, jewel-like paintings. The accompanying
slide show highlights some particularly splendid examples from
an altogether remarkable collection. Can you give us a brief
history of these so-c