Lot 32: Peaches, grapes, a pear, and white currants in a wan-li kraak porcelain dish, with shells, a lizard and a butterfly on a ledge

Ambrosius Bosschaert II (Arnemuiden 1609-1645 Utrecht)
Peaches, grapes, a pear, and white currants in a wan-li kraak porcelain dish, with shells, a lizard and a butterfly on a ledge
oil on panel
15 x 18 in. (38 x 45.8 cm.)

Anonymous sale; Sotheby's, London, 5 July 1989, lot 36, as Bartolomeus Assteyn (sold £88,000), where acquired by the present owner.

THE PROPERTY OF A PRIVATE COLLECTOR

Formerly attributed to Bartolomeus Assteyn whose early style was strongly influenced by the Bosschaert family, this picture has recently been recognised by Fred Meijer of the RKD, The Hague, as the work of Ambrosius Bosschaert the Younger. Meijer, on inspection of the picture in the original has suggested a date in the 1630s, when the artist was active in Utrecht. He moved there in 1628 and evolved a style founded on the tuition he received from his father, Ambrosius, and the art of his uncle, Bartolomeus van der Ast, whose influence can be felt strongly in this painting.