Dummy boards are life-size, flat, wooden figures painted and shaped in outline to resemble figures of servants, soldiers, children, and animals. The taste for using illusionistic painted figures as a form of house decoration probably originated in the trompe l’oeil, or life-like interior scenes painted by Dutch artists in the early 17th century. Dummy boards continued to be produced into the 19 th century. They were placed in corners and on stairways to surprise visitors, or in front of empty fireplaces in the summer. Most were made by professional sign-painters, who also produced the hanging street signs prevalent until the late 18th century.

It is likely that this figure was made by a professional sign painter. Most dummy boards were produced in this way and sold through cabinet-makers and upholsterers. Sign painters also worked to commission and would provide the client with original designs for approval.

Materials & Making
Dummy boards were made out of a single piece of wood or, like this one, an assembly of tongued and grooved boards cut to shape and reinforced at the back with battens. The front of the figure was smoothed down, primed and painted with oils and the back was more roughly finished and painted black. A block or bracket behind the feet supported the board. The mysterious item in this figure's right hand may have been used to fix it to a wall or door. Dummy boards were usually bolted a few inches in front of a wall to help create a convincing shadow. They also had a chamfered edge from front to back to add to the illusion.