The Female Bruisers, John Goldar, 1770

Satire on women fighting: a street scene in which an elaborately dressed young woman (a courtesan?) has knocked down a market woman; they clench their fists and glare at each other. The first woman has lost her ermine muff and it is handled by two chimney boys and a small girl; her fur-lined cloak and beribboned hat lie on the ground; her hair is dishevelled and her clothes disiordered; a watch hangs at her waist. A butcher who is supporting her pats her back and holds a cut lemon to her nose. The market woman is helped up by a paviour who holds her under her arms, one hand cupped around her right breast. On the left, behind the sweeps, is a well-dressed couple who smile at the scene, a fish-wife wearing a straw hat and smoking a pipe, a man in three-cornered hat (a soldier?) who picks the pocket of an innocent-looking young man with eyes open wide at the scene, and a man with a large basket on his head who stands behind. Between the two women, two small girls watch from behind a barrow apparently laden with fruit; two well-dressed men raise their hands as they regard the scene; a man arrives on horseback. On the right, is a tavern with an elegant doorway lettered "neat win[es]"; the well-dressed landlady rushes forth; she is restrained by a sailor (?) who looks sideways at the fallen woman and by another man whose hand rests on her shoulder; behind her a young maidservant looks on in alarm. On the left is a brothel with a notice on the window reading "to lett a pretty little apartment fit for a single gentleman"; above the keystone is the mark of the union fire insurance company with joined hands and the number, "1763000"; pasted on the wall is a torn playbill for "the rival queens"; through a window on an upper floor can be seen a man kissing a woman who reaches to draw the curtain. The butcher's stall abuts the porch of the house which carries three plant pots. In the foreground, on the left two cocks face up to each other, and on the right the paviours tools rest on the ground. 1770 etching and engraving. Date: 1770. Dimensions: Height: 448 mm (trimmed); Width: 561 mm. Medium: paper. Collection: British Museum. The Female Bruisers (BM 1869,0213.1)