An Unknown Child
Isaac Oliver (Rouen c.1565 – London 1617)
Category
Art / Miniatures
Date
Unknown
Materials
Cardboard, Watercolour paint
Measurements
72 mm (H); 60 mm (W)
Order this imageCollection
Ham House, Surrey
NT 1140192
Caption
An oil painting pasted on to a playing card is displayed at Ham House and illustrates that dummies are not a modern invention but have been used for centuries. The earliest ones were made of a strip of muslin which was knotted at each end to enclose honey, brandy, poppy seeds and other food products on which the child would suck. Excavations of ancient infant burials in Cyprus and Italy have uncovered clay dummies dating as far back as 2-3,000 years.
Summary
Portrait miniature, oil painting on playing card, An Unknown Child with a Dummy by Isaac Oliver (Rouen c.1565 – London 1617). Oval. Half-length portrait, turned slightly to the right, as a young child, holding a dummy, in an elaborate lace-trimmed dress, square ruff, grey and pink bonnet. Grey eyes, fair hair, pale face.
Provenance
The Unknown Child is listed in the 1683 ‘Estimate of Pictures' as ‘135. A Child’s head of Hilliard [£] 5 00 00.’
Makers and roles
Isaac Oliver (Rouen c.1565 – London 1617), artist
