I am always amused at the perceived Victorian sense of morality and we have all heard of the apocryphal stories of dressing the legs of furniture for the sake of decency though I rather guess it was more a case of how a lady might sit decently.
I can’t be the only one that believes that the near naked female form appeared rather regularly in the Academy or the Gallery, but that it was acceptable because it was ‘Art’. As a man who is employed in the field I can buy into that aesthetic argument, but every now and then something more ‘under the counter’ appears.
A Staffordshire pottery figure of a 'saucy' tavern wench
The tavern wench is modelled modestly with long dress, apron and mob cap carrying a bottle she might not merit a second glance, but upend her and under her skirts she is accurately and explicitly modelled. It certainly isn’t a one off I have seen another previously so it must have been made commercially. Whether it is art, pornography or ‘Page Three’ you can decide.
Below is an image of why the tavern wench is so infamous
You have been warned!
