Lot 138
  • 138

Nicolaes Cave

Estimate
7,000 - 9,000 EUR
bidding is closed

Description

  • Nicolaes Cave
  • A still life with a live hawk perched on a dead partridge, a kingfisher, finches and other dead game in a woven basket
  • oil on panel

Provenance

With Leger Galleries, London, by 1972 (according to a label on the reverse);
M.G.G. Herrick, Brussels, by 1973 (both the above as by J. Vonck);
F. Devaux, Brussels, by 2008.

Literature

P.H. Decoteau, Clara Peeters 1594 - ca. 1640, Lingen 1992, pp. 63, 65-6, reproduced p. 65, fig. 50.

Condition

The catalogue illustration is representative for the actual painting. The panel seems to consist of one plank, and has been cradled. The panel is possibly cut. There is a spot of paint loss in the upper centre right, and another one along the left edge. There is a tendency towards flaking around the paint losses. A few retouched paint losses are visible along the right edge. Two very thin retouched horizontal splits are running from the right edge in the upper half of the painting, and another is running from the left edge through the centre of the panel. Extensive retouching can be observed in the green back- and foreground around the birds. The birds, however, have been wonderfully preserved. The paint surface is under a clear and shiny layer of varnish. Inspection under Ultra-Violet light confirms the aforementioned retouchings to the background, and reveals a few tiny retouchings to the head and chest of the hawk, in the eye of the bird most left, and in the red bird upper centre. Offered in plain fruit wood frame with gilt fillets, with a few cracks. (MW)
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

Catalogue Note

This work by the relatively unknown still life painter Nicolaes Cave is one of several versions, of which a signed one was recorded with Schlichte Bergen in 1993. Although much indebted to Clara Peeters, the stylistic elements in Cave's work do show a clear character of its own.