Featured Trying to find info on an old wood panel painting.

Hahahahaha!!!

 

That’s good to know, thanks!

 

From the choir stall graffitti site:

The conjoined VV, sometimes referred to as a witch mark is possibly the best known of the apotropaic symbols.

Pretty much irrelevant, just wanted to use 'apotropaic' twice in one week.

 

On the other hand, an awful lot of engravings were made of paintings & some paintings by great masters are known now only through surviving engravings.

 

Ugh, this isn’t going to be easy is it.

 

On the ground, just to the left of the discarded robes where the dog has bedded down (very funny touch; bet artist had a dog), are those fallen roses?

 

Yes it looks like pink roses and a purple flower as well.

 

I don't have anything to add. I'm getting a vague impression that the seal may be associated with a guild, the flanking initials identifying a specific individual. It makes sense that it would be a merchant's seal, given the manner in which it has been applied. I'm also getting a vague impression that it may be Scottish in origin.

The Guild of Saint Luke was, I believe, the principal guild for painters.

Including four figures in the dancing ring suggests a deliberate avoidance of association with the 3 graces, which is probably the most common excuse for showing multiple female nudes. I agree with Bronwen that the discarded clothing is unusual and goes further to suggest no classical intent.

There are images of dancers at fairy rings. Perhaps this is related.

I think the seated figures are musicians, one with a pipe or recorder type of instrument , the other possibly with a lyre.

I thought antidiem made some interesting points about the inclusion of the sleeping dog and the goat, but now I'm not seeing that post (maybe I dreamt it?).

It's not a very accomplished painting, but it's a darn interesting one.

Am I missing a post that gives dimensions?

Given the similarity to the Colonial Williamsburg mark, perhaps you can contact them to find why they chose that particular design. If you do that, include a photo of the seal so they can see the similarity.

 

another sidebar: @Bronwen - isn't there a name for paintings where people in the distance are going on about their daily lives? Or am I making that up? This feels like familiar ground.

 

Yes I edited the original post with the dimensions. I think 21 x 16 1/2. And the post should still be there that talks about the possible symbolism.

 

Ah yes, Scottish Presbyterians and Catholics were very fond of nude ladies dancing with abandon, so you may very well be right.

 

An excerpt from the article that makes me realize what a complete stroke of luck it would be to find the owner of that mark.

The linked article has 280 marks. I picked the below example because I thought it was closest to the OP's (but it's definitely NOT the OP's). And the description of that mark made it clear that, well, there were lots of marks floating around.

(and it's not just merchants/craftspeople/artists that used such marks, in some places families had marks and marked their personal property)

https://archive.org/details/norfolkarchaeol07socigoog/page/n272

 

Someone posted that the dog was sleeping and the meaning but I have already forgotten the word to type it again here. I understood that the painting of a sleeping dog meant that 'everything was no worry' from that word. Someone else mentioned the goat looked mean. lol He does.

I really think this is a decorative painting, was made to be a decorative piece in that shape. I don't know how old it is, but the dark brown stain on the back could be deceptive.

 

plus @moreotherstuff

I think you're both looking for @sabre123 post here: https://www.antiquers.com/threads/t...-wood-panel-painting.42053/page-3#post-966516

 

Also, there are quite the number of Flemish paintings with naked women and sleeping dogs.

(and yes, I think it's Flemish (or thereabouts), no I don't think it's a 19th century copy, no I'm not going into why (other than, I've read so much stuff on merchant's marks today, my eyes are crossed and my head hurts and that's why ))

 

I was told it could be Flemish, that it could be a Pieter Van Avont, but I don’t think it’s one of his.

 

I think it was also Debora's post:

 

It's entirely possible that I have been unduly influenced by the ARS evaluation, but I just haven't seen anything that convinces me otherwise.