The interior of the rotunda at the pantheon. A lady stands in the centre, the feathers (taller than the wearer) in her grotesquely high coiffure of hair having caught fire from the hanging candelabra. A maidservant directs a jet of water to the blaze from the nozzle of a large pencil-shaped fire extinguisher, which she holds in both hands. A man holds up in both hands a long narrow board marked in lengths of feet with which he appears to be measuring the height of the head-dress. A lady and a gentleman sit on a sofa (right), each with a hand held up in surprise. On the left are two ladies, seated, with a man standing behind them, bending forward as he looks through his lorgnette. The ladies are dressed in the fashion of the day, with long ear-rings, and large nosegays tucked into their low-cut bodices. On a scaffolding (right) stand two workmen who are wielding mallets with great energy. In a gallery high up under the dome, fronted by a balustrade, are musicians (left) partly obscured by the towering feathers, two violinists being visible. 28 march 1776
mezzotint. Date: 1776. Dimensions: Height: 353 mm; Width: 252 mm. Medium: paper. Collection: British Museum. A hint to the ladies to take care of their heads (BM J,5.107)
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