A Late 18thC Whale Bone & Ebony Wig Scratcher c.1780 sub-Curios but in 1901 disaster struck

but in 1901 disaster struck and Arthur was diagnosed with stomach cancer

a task depicted with supreme attention to detail that reflects the subject’s status and the painterly precision for which van Dyck is renowned

and good luck

the dogs do have some very small areas of loss to their gilded decoration and to the plasterwork beneath

modelled as two clowns

A Late 18thC Whale Bone & Ebony Wig Scratcher c.1780 sub-Curios but in 1901 disaster struckOrigin: English Period: George III Provenance: Unknown Date: c. 1780 Length: 16 Width: 1 (at hand) The wonderfully tactile wig or back scratcher of particularly long size, the elegant hand crafted in whale bone to an ebony handle terminating in a knop, the whole surviving from the last quarter of the eighteenth century. The piece is in very good original order which is hard to find with examples of this type and has a superb patina. Large wigs were