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La main chaude (handjeklap in Dutch) was a game already popular in the Middle Ages, and can be seen on ivories and miniatures of the period. It was a popular subject for Dutch 17th-century genre painters. The woman with her hand on the back had to guess who is slapping her hand. As long as she does not know, they will slap her hand again. That is why it is called la main chaude, although the name is of course a double-entendre.
The panel is signed on the basket lower left: JM (in ligature) olenaer.
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