These cookies are absolutely essential for our website to function properly.
We use Google Analytics to measure how you use the website so we can improve it based on user needs.
These cookies may be set by third party websites and do things like measure how you view YouTube videos.
Amgueddfa Cymru – Museum Wales
This housewife is busy embroidering and selecting vegetables from a pail. But she may not be as virtuous as she appears. The artist Brekelenkam specialized in small-scale interiors, often with hidden meanings. The Dutch verb 'naaien' (to sew) also means to copulate, while onions were considered to be aphrodisiacs. Cut flowers warn against short-lived pleasures and closed books suggest human ignorance. The bed in the background suggests this woman may be a prostitute.
Collections Online is updated regularly, but please confirm that an object remains on display before making a special visit.
