A Dummy Board Figure of a Servant Woman peeling an Apple
Dutch School
Category
Art / Oil paintings
Date
circa 1650 - circa 1675
Materials
Oil on wood
Measurements
1187 x 768 mm (46 3/4 x 30 1/4 in)
Place of origin
Holland
Order this imageCollection
Dyrham, Gloucestershire
NT 452942
Caption
This dummy board, or ‘silent companion’, shows a Dutch woman peeling an apple. It is not clear exactly how such dummy boards were used, but they may have acted as firescreens. This one has been at Dyrham Park since at least 1703, when it is listed in the property inventory as 'a Woman paring an Apple'. Interestingly, none of the other pictures listed in the 1703 inventory are named by artist or subject, and just appear as 'pictures' under the Room heading, making it difficult to identify them.
Summary
Oil painting on wood, A Dummy Board Figure of a Servant Woman peeling an Apple, Dutch School, circa 1650-75. A painted wood 'dummy board' figure of a servant woman peeling an apple, seated. See same figure at Knole NT 129456.
Provenance
Recorded at Dyrham Park since at least 1703; thence by descent; Indigenous collection purchased by Ministry of Works in 1956 and given to Dyrham Park in 1961
Credit line
Dyrham Park, The Blathwayt Collection (acquired by the Ministry of Works via the National Land Fund in 1956, and transferred to the National Trust)
Makers and roles
Dutch School, artist