Attributed to Adriaen Brouwer Oudenaarde (?) 1605/6 - 1638 Antwerp

Gustaf Adolf Sparre (1746-1794).
Sparre inv., 1794, no. 8. 

Göthe, 1895, p. 17, no. 43, as Dutch, mid 17th Century;
Hasselgren, 1974, pp. 113, 119, reproduced p. 181. 

"The following condition report has been provided by Henry Gentle, an independent restorer who is not an employee of Sotheby's. The oak panel is chamfered, there is some evidence of previous worm infestation. The paint layer is stable but the vertical wood grain is slightly raised and abraded. Under U-V light retouching can be seen to the barrel, the shadow behind the sitter and to the top of the painting at the centre, to augment the thinnesses and reduce the wood grain effect. The discoloured and degraded varnish has lost its saturating capability and if removed would improve the tonality."
"This lot is offered for sale subject to Sotheby's Conditions of Business, which are available on request and printed in Sotheby's sale catalogues. The independent reports contained in this document are provided for prospective bidders' information only and without warranty by Sotheby's or the Seller."

This picture is close in style to works painted by Brouwer around the time of his return from Haarlem to Antwerp circa 1630.  Granberg attributed it with reservations to David Teniers the Younger.

A copy on canvas was sold in Brussels, 21 December 1925, lot 14, and was subsequently with Kunsthandlung M. Blumenreich, Berlin.