Lot 25: Balthasar van der Ast , Middelberg 1593/94 - 1657 Delft Still life of a 'Semper Augustus' Tulip, Irises, a Carnation and other Flowers in a Wan-Li Vase, Resting on a Table with Cherries and Berries oil on oak panel

oil on oak panel

measurements note 15 3/4 by 10 1/2 in.; 40 by 26.6 cm.

Until recently in a private English collection;
Thence by descent to a female member of a Norfolk family.

The attribution of Still Life of a 'Semper Augustus' Tulip and Other Flowers has been confirmed by Fred Meijer on the basis of first-hand inspection of the picture. It is an early work by Van der Ast and still reflects the influence of his teacher and brother-in-law Ambrosius Bosschaert. One sees this in the small scale of the painting, the clarity of the presentation and the emphasis on the vertical axis. Mejier has dated the picture to 1624-25, and it can be related to a group of other still lifes, all of which have bouquets of flowers in Wan-li (late Ming) porcelain vases. The vases in all are similar but not identical, and probably represent Van der Ast's idea of a Chinese vase rather than being painted after an actual work.υ1 The pictures include a slightly earlier panel dated 1623 in the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford, and one sold at Christie's London, December 8, 2005, lot 11, of about the same date. The present work is more majestic in feeling, with greater depth and clarity. The magnificent tulip is flanked by a wide variety of other smaller blossoms, all somehow fitting into the delicate gilt-mounted vase. Van der Ast artfully arranges the cherries and berries on the ledge below, both to attract our eye and to balance the weight of the flowers above. This painting will be published in the forthcoming catalogue raisonné on the works of Balthasar van der Ast by Daniëlle Lokin. 1 F.G. Meijer, The Ashmolean Museum, Oxford. Catalogue of the Collection of Paintings. The Collection of Dutch and Flemish Still-Life Painting Bequeathed by Daisy Linda Ward, Zwolle 2003, p.159.