DUTCH SCHOOL, CIRCA 1700 | A RED AND WHITE TULIP

This watercolour belongs to a substantial number of sheets relating to tulip books produced around 1636, at the height of the 'Tulip Mania', in which the colours, names and sometimes prices of particular strains of tulip were systematically recorded by bulb dealers and collectors. These tulip books were widely repeated and copied, both at the time and later, and a significant number of watercolours by the same hand as the present example are known. The late Dr. Sam Segal attributed these drawings to Anthony Claesz III (Amsterdam 1634-1674). A summary of this phenomenon and the discussion of the attribution, can be found in the catalogue to the sale, 'Tulip Mania', held at Sotheby's Amsterdam on 16 June 1998.