The sitter was the eldest daughter of short-lived Frederick Christian, Elector of Saxony and his wife Maria Antonia Princess of Bavaria. In 1774, she was married to Palatine Count Charles II, Duke of Zweibrücken and had a son. A great-granddaughter of King Augustus the Strong of Poland, she was the sister of the Saxon Kings Frederick I and Anthony I (see previous lot) who were also both painted by Fiorino.
A miniature of Princess Maria Amalia as a young lady was offered at Sotheby's, London, 14 September 2000, lot 354. Another version of the present miniature is in the Athenaeum, Helsinki, described in U. Huhtamäki et al., Miniatyyrit. Sinebrychoffin Taidemuseo, Hollola, 2002, no. 80.