Old John

Old John has settled onto a rough log bench, a small concertina in his hands and his right arm thrown along the backrest. A blue kerchief is knotted at his collar, the burgundy waistcoat hangs open, and his trousers are patched at the knee. A ginger cat sleeps curled on the boards beside him while a straw-wrapped flask stands underneath. The base reads as trodden earth, edged by a gilt rocaille border in Capodimonte porcelain.