This game, which was partially derived from the French game of ‘Jeu de mail’ and relates to modern golf, involved hitting a ball with a club (kliek) at a target. Often played in indoor courses, variants of the game were also played on frozen canals during the winter months.

Dummy boards are flat trompe l’oeil figures painted on panels that are cut in the contour of the subject’s figure. They were often made in pairs and were usually intended to be placed alongside a fireplace. Boards dating from before 1660, such as the present example, are extremely rare and all seem to originate from the Netherlands and England.

These life-like dummy boards were used for multiple practical (and sometimes amusing) purposes, which included being used as chimney guards to mask open fireplaces during the warm summer months; as deterrents to potential intruders; and as “silent companions” to those combatting loneliness.