Interesting Art

[Gentleman of Fortune]

Cool...no?

1673

Eidt:

Big ol' wheel of cheese and bread

Wooden bound cask

interesting trapazoidal chest

large coil of rope?

Cool mug for drinkin'

Canvas wrapped? Mabe its some sort of textiles...

[Capt. Sterling]

Cool yes... can't see much detail on the two chaps in the broadbrimmed hats? or is it just being without my specs at the moment??

Tell me does anyone else see a shoulder knot on the fellow in the black and orange to the right of the picture? and ribbons at the knee? and a sash about his waist?

And what say you Kass... petticoat breeches on the guy all in black (or maybe dark blue depending on your monitor...) or is that just a long coat?

[JoshuaRed]

Ahhhh yes I've seen this before. I love it! Thanks for popping it up here Greg.

Something I've always wondered about in all these period pics are those nondescript bundles (lower left region) tied up in what looks like canvas and rope. What trade items were typically packaged for travel this way? Clothing? General goods? Foodstuffs? Seems like it would be a fairly simple prop to make for an encampment....

[blackjohn]

I love the web gallery of art. Remember that discussion we had some time ago about red hats... that turned to hats with pipes in them, weird hats, weird things in weird hats, etc. Well, a bunch of the pics I pulled from there came from this site. Go to Cs. Look up Canaletto. He's Italian and quite amazing, maritime themed, though mostly canals, early 1700s. In fact...

[JoshuaRed]

I hear ya John. I have a whole folder of Canaletto pix saved on my HD. GREAT stuff.

[Capt. Bo of the WTF co.]

From what I've learned here in Missouri about those "non-descript bundles", those were used to transport any number of dry goods, to save on weight and costs. The most common items shipped in this manner during the steambot era on the rivers, were textiles and finished clothing such as military uniforms. I'm certain other "soft" dry goods were shipped this way to save on the cost of building crates for them. Also, hides were bundled for shipping in this manner, for transport to their final destination after being graded and counted by the factors.

[JoshuaRed]

Interesting, thanks Bo!

[Cpt. Alva]

could said bundles be sails, or sailcloth?

[kass]

And what say you Kass... petticoat breeches on the guy all in black (or maybe dark blue depending on your monitor...) or is that just a long coat?

Definitely petticote breeches on the guy in black. This would be the time period just before they went out of fashion. They're worn with a long coat like an early Justacorp instead of a doublet as they would have been worn a decade earlier.

And yes, that is a shoulder knot on the guy to the right. And matching ribbon garters and a waist sash. He must be a military guy.

I don't know if I'm seeing wide breeches gathered at the knee on the other guys or open knee breeches, but both were common this early. And the nursing woman is wearing an English Jacket. God, I love that garment!

Is that the Dutch flag it's flying? Does anyone know?

Greg! References please! Artist's name, title of picture, gallery, etc.

[blackjohn]

BACKHUYSEN, Ludolf

Dutch painter (b. 1631, Emden, d. 1708, Amsterdam)

Just right click on the pic, then back out of that directory, that puts you on the museum's front page, blahblahblah...

Notice the ubiquitous Dutch sailor's cap, ala that worn by the Dutch Captain in the pic I snapped from... whatever book that was...

[kass]

Yeah, I'm not surprised, John. It had that "Dutch feel" to me... Thanks for letting me be lazy.

[Fox]

That is indeed the Dutch flag flying from the mainmast, though it's unusual to see an orange stripe rather than red this late. It's a pity the devices on the white stripe aren't clearer, it's suggests a Company flag, but it's impossible to tell which company. If it could be worked out then it might give a clue as to the contents of the parcels.

I'm guessing that the parcels may not be sails: the guy on the far right has one over his shoulder and that bulk of folded canvas is gonna be heavy. That bulk of clothes or similar would be much lighter.

I love those hats! Very similar to the one recovered from the Swedish "Kronen" of the same era.

[kass]

Lemme give this a go. I can see things fairly clearly on my monitor. I see a gold lozenge in the center of the white stripe, and a smaller lozenge or star to the left of that. One presumes another on the right balances it. Ringing any bells?

[CrazyCholeBlack]

nursing woman

That's what I thought about her too.

So if that central flag is Dutch, what is the one to the far right?

[kass]

I was wondering the same thing, Chole. Oh Flag Boy! What's that blue and red and white and red and blue one?

[Fox]

It could be one of the municipal flags of Holland (there are too many for me to know all of them), but it might well be a variant on the national flag. At about this time the Dutch used a flag called the "Double Prince" which had each colour twice - perhaps this is a similar variant. Notice how the white stripe is twice the thickness of the others?

Of course, it's purely educated guessing.