Milking Time, Buckets and Stools and Towels in Hand, Antique Scandinavian Photo wooden citrus reamer The squareness of the bottom

The squareness of the bottom of the crock above what I take for the ledge of a table seems to strip it of illusionism and makes the painting itself a thing

and the hand-written two-sided cards--accounting for every month and possibility for how the dates fall--are easily removed

and on both sides the puppet is attached to what I believe are bamboo sticks

and it has aged quite a bit sense)

Some stains as evident

Milking Time, Buckets and Stools and Towels in Hand, Antique Scandinavian Photo wooden citrus reamer The squareness of the bottomIt took me a minute to put it together, but the buckets in the hands of these very strong looking women are milk pails, and in the opposite hand each holds a milking stool along with a bright white towel. (What the men are up to I'm not quite sure, but surely there is no shortage of things to do.) No young milk maids here, but rather quite sturdy and wise women, with wonderful life worn faces and postures and some marvelous stripes over stripes on the