Rommelpot Player
by STEEN, Jan, Oil on canvas, 57 x 42 cm
The subject is the celebration of Vastenavond (Shrove Tuesday), the festival preceding the period of Lent. It is celebrated in some countries by consuming pancakes. The boy at left plays a rommelpot, the small girl joyously holds aloft a waffle.
The rommelpot is a Dutch friction drum, in which the sound is primarily produced by the vibration of a tightly stretched membrane. The instrument shown in the present painting consists of an animal bladder stretched across an earthenware pot or jug and manipulated by a reed stick. It made a particularly raucous sound.