I love the ordinary.
What could be more ordinary than clipping your nails?
Many a time have I pondered the difficulty of such a mundane task for people with no access to handy, purpose-built nail clippers, either in the past or the present. Thus, I was delighted to come across this huge, centuries-old painting by Dutch master, Rembrandt (or one of his pupils) of an aged woman tending to her finger nails. Though, I am no art historian, I have always been drawn to the painters of old who shined a light on the common folk rather than just the wealthy. The Bible itself includes a reference to nail grooming, though without mention of a specialized tool.
Undoubtedly, folks have always relied on whatever sharp object they had at hand. The woman in this painting appears to use some sort of small scissors or snips, but paring knives could also be used.
“Then thou shalt bring her home to thine house; and she shall shave her head, and pare her nails;”
Deuteronomy 21:21, King James Bible
In 1875, the first U.S. patent for a specialized nail clipping device was filed by Valentine Fogerty. The nail clippers with which most of us are so familiar use a compound lever mechanism to neatly remove the outer edges of our ever-growing bits of keratin. Plier style nail trimming tools have also been available since the late 19th century. They were available to the common American by mail order.
Images like this one remind me that we are not so different from our ancestors. We have many of the same frailties and needs. I hope you too appreciate the charm in this painting of a woman engaging in the same humble hygiene routine we all must continue to maintain.
Further Reading
- We Nailed It | Tedium.co
- Nail Clippers | Wikipedia
- Old Woman Cutting Her Nails (49 5/8 x 40 1/8 in.) | Metmuseum.org
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