TWO GEORGE I POLYCHROME-PAINTED DUMMY BOARDS
TWO GEORGE I POLYCHROME-PAINTED DUMMY BOARDS
TWO GEORGE I POLYCHROME-PAINTED DUMMY BOARDS
2 More
Specified lots are being stored at Crozier Park Ro… Read more
TWO GEORGE I POLYCHROME-PAINTED DUMMY BOARDS

CIRCA 1720

Details
TWO GEORGE I POLYCHROME-PAINTED DUMMY BOARDS
CIRCA 1720
One depicting a young lady holding a fan in one hand, her dress in the other; the other depicting a boy wearing a wig and holding his hat; each with easel support
The lady: 43 ¼ in. (110 cm.) high; 16 ¾ in. (42.5 cm.) wide; 9 ½ in. (24 cm.) deep
The boy: 39 ½ in. (100 cm.) high; 10 ½ in. (27 cm.) wide; 8 in. (20 cm.) deep
Special notice
Specified lots are being stored at Crozier Park Royal (details below) or will be removed from Christie’s, 8 King Street, London, SW1Y 6QT by 5.00pm on the day of the sale. Christie’s will inform you if the lot has been sent offsite. If the lot has been transferred to Crozier Park Royal, it will be available for collection from 12.00pm on the second business day following the sale. Please call Christie’s Client Service 24 hours in advance to book a collection time at Crozier Park Royal. All collections from Crozier Park Royal will be by pre-booked appointment only. Tel: +44 (0)20 7839 9060 Email: cscollectionsuk@christies.com. If the lot remains at Christie’s, 8 King Street, it will be available for collection on any working day (not weekends) from 9.00am to 5.00pm Cancellation under the EU Consumer Rights Directive may apply to this lot. Please see here for further information.

Brought to you by

Amelia Walker
Amelia Walker Director, Specialist Head of Private & Iconic Collections

Lot Essay


Figures such as these probably originated in the early 17th century and were popular through to the 19th century. There are written references to such figures through this period, including several examples that were listed as 'cut out pieces to stand upon the stairs' in the inventory at Cobham Hall, Kent (1672); a figure of the 'Housewife with her Broom' was, according to Ned Ward in The London Spy, 1700, 'very usually set up in Great Families as good Examples to Servant Wenches, to make 'em mindful of their Cleanliness'; and one was noted by John Abdy Repton in the Gentleman's Magazine, November 1845 (p. 590) as 'a painting...cut out of a board'. Such wooden templates, both 'large as life' and smaller examples such as these two, have been known since the 19th century as 'picture board dummies'. Dummy-boards had a variety of purposes, but primarily they were used as whimsical decoration in private houses, where they depicted maid servants or butlers who welcomed the guests. They were also used to disguise empty fireplaces in the summer.

More from Apter-Fredericks: 75 Years of Important English Furniture

View All
View All