Elderly Peasant Woman with a Milk Kettle on her Head

Indirect, fairly heavy cast. Arms are solid. A thick iron armature wire runs from the feet up to the kettle, where it forms a loop and engages with two thinner wires, which were possible used to suspend the figure during the modelling process. No visible tool marks on the surface. Dark brown, opaque patina.
Alloy brass with some tin and some lead; copper with some impurities (Cu 84.79%; Sn 1.44%; Zn 11.39%; Pb 1.15%; Fe 0.69%; Ni 0.12%; Ag 0.1%; Sb 0.18%; As 0.12%)

…; sale Joseph de Ghellinck d’Elseghem (Brussels), London (Sotheby’s), 30 June 1969, no. 58 (with BK-1969-7), £ 319 for both, to the museum, as a gift from the Commissie voor Fotoverkoop

ObjectNumber: BK-1969-6

Credit line: Purchased with the support of the Stichting tot Bevordering van de Belangen van het Rijksmuseum

When the Rijksmuseum acquired the Elderly Peasant Woman with a Milk Kettle on her Head in 1969, it was accompanied by a Peasant Holding a Bird (BK-1969-7). This pairing was a mismatch: as was later discovered, the museum already held a cast of the actual pendant figure in its collection: Elderly Peasant with a Basket (Spice-Gatherer?) (BK-NM-7206). Judging by the large number of known casts (at least four pairs and twelve individual figures), the two models are certain to have been quite popular.¹¹Three other pairs are known: 1. Berlin, Staatliche Museen, Skulpturensammlung (E.F. Bange, Die Bildwerke in Bronze und in anderen Metallen: Arbeiten in Perlmutter und Wachs, geschnittene Steine, coll. cat. Berlin (Staatliche Museen zu Berlin) 1923, nos. M.84a and b; 2. former collection Erwin Nostitz, Prague (E.W. Braun, Die Bronzen der Sammlung Guido von Rhò in Wien, Österreichische Privatsammlungen, vol. 1, Vienna 1908, p. 25); 3. sale London (Sotheby’s), 8 July 1976, nos. 172-73. Individual figures of the Elderly Peasant with a Basket (Spice-Gatherer?): 1. former collection G. von Rhò, Vienna (E.W. Braun, Die Bronzen der Sammlung Guido von Rhò in Wien, Österreichische Privatsammlungen, vol. 1, Vienna 1908, no. XXXVII-a, with a different peasant woman as pendant); 2. sale London (Sotheby’s), 21 April 1988, no. 173; 3. sale London (Sotheby’s), 16 December 1998, no. 117; 4. London, Wallace Collection, inv. no. s242; 5. Venice, Museo Nazionale del Palazzo di Venezia, inv. no. 10816; 6. sale Stuttgart (Nagel Auktionen), 23-24 November 2009, no. 896; 7. sale London (Bonhams), 10 July 2012, no. 278; 8. sale former collection Professor Michael Jaffé, London (Sotheby’s), 3 July 2018, no. 8. Differences between casts vary. For example, the positioning of the arms and legs on the farmer in the Wallace Collection is mirrored when compared to other pieces; the farmer in the former G. von Rhò collection wears long stockings while the rest have exposed lower legs. In addition, the casts sometimes display major differences in detailing and finishing.

Bronzes depicting rustic themes of this nature are frequently presumed to be Dutch in origin. A modest tradition, however, also existed in France,²²B. Jestaz, ‘Travaux récents sur les bronzes, II: Renaissance septentrionale et Baroque’, Revue de l’Art 9 (1970), pp. 78-81, esp. p. 79, no. 12; B. Jestaz, ‘L’influence flamande en France à la fin du XVIe siècle’, in A. Chastel (ed.), Actes du Colloque international sur l’art de Fontainebleau, Paris 1975, pp. 75-84, esp. pp. 78-80; R. Seelig-Teuwen, Barthélemy Prieur (1536-1611), 1973 (diss. University of Munich), p. 284. where the sculptor Barthélemy Prieur (1536-1611) laid the basis. Works falling under this category include Prieur’s Maiden Milking a Cow and a Peasant Girl Dressed for the Market (BK-1954-42).³³Cf. G. Bresc-Bautier and G. Scherf (eds.), Cast in Bronze: French Sculpture from Renaissance to Revolution, exh. cat. Paris (Musée du Louvre)/New York (The Metropolitan Museum of Art)/Los Angeles (The J. Paul Getty Museum) 2008-09, nos. 30 and 32. The decision to produce sculptures centring on profane subjects along with other scenes of daily life was likely motivated by Prieur’s Protestant faith and clientele. In developing these works, the sculptor showed great interest in the customs and traditional attire of people from every layer of society. As a Huguenot, Prieur was required to leave Paris in the years 1585-91. Settling in the city of Sedan, a Protestant enclave in north-eastern France, he likely received very few commissions during this period of exile. It was presumably for this reason that during this period he focused largely on the making of small bronze sculptures that were readily sellable on the free market.

In 1909, Migeon linked the peasant pair to the Maiden Milking a Cow – attributed to Prieur only later – that he believed were Flemish works of the seventeenth century.⁴⁴G. Migeon, ‘Collection de M. Piet-Lataudrie’, Les Arts 92 (August 1909) p. 21. In 1923, Bange subsequently attributed the Elderly Peasaant with a Basket (Spice-Gatherer?) to the Nuremberg ‘Master of the Goose-Man’, named after the fountain statue on the Obstmarkt in that city.⁵⁵E.F. Bange, Die deutschen Bronzestatuetten des 16. Jahrhunderts, Berlin 1949, p. 146, no. 173 (see also nos. 172, 174-75). Attribution recently repeated in P. Cannata, Sculture in Bronzo, coll. cat. Venice (Museo Nazionale del Palazzo di Venezia) 2011, no. 192. In 1967, Weihrauch reverted back to the Flemish localization, ascribing the pair and several other compositions today decisively attributed to Prieur, together with a number of other more or less related bronzes, to the Flemish ‘Master of the Genre Figures’.⁶⁶H.R. Weihrauch, Europäische Bronzestatuetten, 15.-18. Jahrhundert, Braunschweig 1967, pp. 364-67. In retrospect, however, the quality and style of the works grouped under this sobriquet varied to such a degree that describing them all as works made by one and the same hand had simply become untenable.

For the present pair, however, a number of characteristics, especially evident in the treatment of the drapery folds, are very similar to those encountered on other works by Prieur.⁷⁷Braun had linked the pair to Prieur’s Gentleman and Peasant Girl Dressed for Market as early as 1908, describing them as ‘French, early 17th century’ (E.W. Braun, Die Bronzen der Sammlung Guido von Rhò in Wien, Österreichische Privatsammlungen, vol. 1, Vienna 1908). One year after, Migeon related them to the Maiden Milking a Cow, a work attributed to Prieur only later. He dated both works the same, but initially referred to them as ‘Flemish’ (G. Migeon, ‘La collection de Piet-Lataudrie’, Les Arts 92 (August 1909), pp. 24-25, esp. p. 21) and subsequently ‘Franco-German’ (G. Migeon, ‘Les accroissement des musées (musée du Louvre): Département des Objets d’art du Moyen-Âge et de la Renaissance’, Les Arts 97 (January 1910), pp. 10-18, esp. p. 16). The hem on the ends of the headdress on the Elderly Peasant Woman with a Milk Kettle on her Head meanders down her back in a manner much like the ends of the sash on Prieur’s Gentleman (BK-NM-8042) fall over his left buttock. Furthermore, the superficial folds at the back of her dress – albeit in a simplified form – match the same detail on Prieur’s Peasant Girl Dressed for Market and his Maiden Milking a Cow. Striking is the virtually identical woven basket found on both the Elderly Peasant with a Basket (Spice-Gatherer?) and the Peasant Girl Dressed for Market, even if finished with less detail in the former case. Despite these noted similarities with a number of Prieur’s bronzes, which normally depict youthful figures, their attribution to his name have not gained general acceptance.⁸⁸Regina Seelig rejects any association with Prieur, see written correspondence, 14 November 2016. The statuettes lack the flowing design, the charming radiance and almond-shaped eyes typically encountered in Prieur’s work. Particularly weak, for example, is the modelling of the front of the dress on the present bronze. Naturally, the scarcely flattering poses and deep-furrowed, somewhat surly-looking faces were perhaps meant to evoke the appearance of old age on both figures. More probable, however, is that the pair were not designed by Prieur himself, but by an assistant or follower of lesser skill.

The assumption that the present pair is indeed French in origin,⁹⁹With thanks to Arie Pappot for the following technical information and observations. for some a finding open to question,¹⁰¹⁰Contested by Regina Seelig, who rules out a French origin (and any association with Prieur), see written communication 14 November 2016. is supported by the existence of a version of the female with an original, deep cherry red lacquer patina.¹¹¹¹Sale London (Christie’s), 9 March 1987, no. 112. In the seventeenth century, this type of patina was chiefly applied in France. Furthermore, small-scale sculptural works produced in Nuremberg during this period, e.g. in the Labenwolf and Wurzelbauer workshop, have brass alloys quite consistently containing substantially higher quantities of nickel and lower values for silver, when compared to the alloy of the Elderly Peasant Woman with a Milk Kettle on her Head and the Elderly Peasant with a Basket (Spice-Gatherer?).¹²¹²J. Riederer, ‘Metallanalysen Nürnberger Statuetten aus der Zeit der Labenwolf-Werkstatt’. Berliner Beiträge zur Archäometrie 7 (1982), pp. 94-100; J. Riederer, ‘Metallanalysen von Statuetten der Wurzelbauer-Werkstatt in Nürnberg’, Berliner Beiträge zur Archäometrie 5 (1980), pp. 43-58. Alloys used by Prieur, his workshop and his followers show a greater agreement, with lower zinc, lead and nickel values.¹³¹³R. Seelig-Teuwen, D. Bourgarit and F.G. Bewer, ‘Barthélemy Prieur fondeur, son atelier, ses méthodes de travail’, in J. Bassett, F.G. Bewer and D. Bourgarit (eds.), French Bronze Sculpture: Materials and Techniques 16th-18th Century, London 2014, pp. 18-38. X-ray analysis also shows that in terms of their casting technique and internal structure both peasant figures differ only minimally from a Gladiator and Acrobat after a model by Prieur in the Fitzwilliam Museum.¹⁴¹⁴V. Avery and J. Dillon, Renaissance and Baroque Bronzes from the Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge, exh. cat. London (Daniel Katz Ltd) 2002, pp. 276-82. In every case, the cast is fairly thick-walled with essentially solid limbs. The core armature consists of a number of separate, vertical iron wires, which probably extended through the wax layer into the outer mould, thus holding the core in place during casting. Individual core pins, frequently used in Italian and southern German bronzes, are completely absent.

Bieke van der Mark, 2024

J. Leeuwenberg with the assistance of W. Halsema-Kubes, Beeldhouwkunst in het Rijksmuseum, coll. cat. Amsterdam 1973, no. 215, with earlier literature

B. van der Mark, 2024, 'follower of Barthélemy Prieur, Elderly Peasant Woman with a Milk Kettle on her Head, France, c. 1650', in F. Scholten and B. van der Mark (eds.), European Sculpture in the Rijksmuseum, online coll. cat. Amsterdam: hdl.handle.net/10934/RM0001.COLLECT.24504