The Rommel-Pot Player

Joy alights on the faces of a crowd of children staring spellbound up at a rommel-pot player. A rommel pot is a musical instrument made out of an earthenware jar with a stick inserted through an animal skin covering. The player rotates and rubs the stick to produce a droning noise akin to a duck call. It was often played during Shrovetide, the festive period before the start of Lent, also known as Carnival. This street performer wears a foxtail hat, a traditional attribute of a fool, highlighting the silliness of the occasion. Frans Hals’s workshop produced multiple versions of this scene, which was likely popular for the way the artist captured childhood delight.