Portrait of English young girl making a questionable sign:
This early 1800's painting was found while I was researching the internet for Deaf culture tidbits. (Yes, I know what this sign looks like!) I became curious about its artist, and found the following information:
William T. Annis, an English mezzotint engraver, of whom very little is known. He exhibited landscapes at the Royal Academy between 1798 and 1811, and engraved portraits such as one of Mary Wollstonecraft Godwin (later Shelley, author of the classic story Frankenstein and a noted intellectual in her times.)
Nothing could be found about the portrait of the young girl demonstrating a sign nor of what the sign means. The title is (link)
Or did the girl posing for the artist have a mischievous streak?
English readers that know BSL, please pitch in your interpretation of what this young girl is actually saying, but keep in mind the antiquity of this painting.
