Ladies Trading on Their Own Bottom
October 5, 1810
Medium
Etching
Dimensions
Sheet: 8 3/8 × 10 7/16 in. (21.2 × 26.5 cm)
Classification
Prints
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
The Elisha Whittelsey Collection, The Elisha Whittelsey Fund, 1959
Accession Number
59.533.1358
Tags
Art Historical Context
Thomas Rowlandson’s 1810 etching “Ladies Trading on Their Own Bottom” offers a witty glimpse into Regency-era social satire. Rowlandson, celebrated for his lively caricatures that skewered the manners and vices of Georgian England, frequently explored themes of money, gender, and morality Here, the title’s playful double entendre hints at women—likely prostitutes—conducting business independently, free from male intermediaries, a subject that would have amused and provoked contemporary viewers. Printed in the accessible medium of etching, the work could be produced quickly and sold affordably...
About the Artist
Thomas Rowlandson · 1756–1827
Thomas Rowlandson (1757–1827) was an English artist and caricaturist whose satirical watercolors and prints captured the social life of Georgian Britain with unparalleled wit and technical mastery. Alongside James Gillray, he is recognized as one of the greatest British graphic artists, and his distinctive flowing line and keen observations have made his work integral to understanding late 18th an...