Oh, Jost Amman, you strange man.

[msmcknittington]

Can anyone explain to me what's going on in this picture? It appears that the woman sitting in front of the bathhouse proprietor (the dude standing up while wearing bikini briefs) has large knobs stuck on her shoulders. I'd read the text that is supposedly about the picture, but it appears to be about an apple seller, and . . . there are no

Comments

[msmcknittington]

I thought of that, and they did do that as part of Western medicine at a later date, though I'm not sure on the 16th century. I believe it had something to do with either circulation or balance of humors. The balance of humors thing held out for centuries in Europe, though, so basing the use of a treatment on a theory that may have been implemented at a later date is tetchy.

The fact that she's washing a child makes medical treatment unlikely in my mind, though. It really looks like she has scrub brushes on her shoulders -- like Scrubbing Bubbles dudes.