The Coaxing Wife, 1770

Satire on cuckoldry. A portly country clergyman is seated at a table being caressed by his young wife who puts her arm across his shoulders to pass a letter to her lover, a military officer, who kisses her hand. The clergyman has just arrived home and is holding a glass of beer and a serving maid comes through the door, on the right, holding a boot jack and indoor shoes for him; behind him a large pair of horns are fixed to the wall from which the officer's hat and sword are hanging indicating that he has been in the house for some time. In the foreground, the officer's dog, with a collar lettered, "capt. Winwife. ", leaps toward a cat which has jumped up at the table, its claws dragging the cloth and spilling a large jug of beer into the clergyman's hat lying on the floor with a glove draped over the brim; the clergyman's dog, his collar lettered "the revd. Mr. Dupe" regards the scene complacently; on the right, a wine bottle and three books, one lettered, "a tryal for crim. Con. ", rest on a small table. On the wall behind are two pictures, "an exact view of cuckold's point. " and "mars led by cupid", while through the door can be seen "a map of cape horn"; a whip and a glove lie on a window sill at right. 25 october 1770 etching and engraving. Date: 1770. Dimensions: Height: 257 mm; Width: 368 mm. Medium: paper. Collection: British Museum.