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The Cloth Shop ostensibly represents a shop interior, a subject rarely seen in Dutch art. However, this is a store whose sumptuous adornment is far removed from real shops of the time. Amidst the dazzling array of fabric bolts a smirking officer gently strokes the chin of the slightly disheveled female clerk while he touches a cloth swatch on the table between them. The viewer can assume that he can probably purchase both the fabric and its seller. Behind the couple, in the back of the shop, a craggy-faced old man dressed in a heavy clothing observes them with resentment.
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