* Louis-Léopold Boilly La Bassée near Lille 1761-1845 Paris

Jack and Belle Linsky, New York;
By whose Estate sold ("Property from the Estate of Belle LInsky, sold by the Executors Muriel Karasik and William D. Zabel"), New York, Sotheby's, June 3, 1988, lot 11;
There purchased by the present owner.

Etienne Breton and Pascal Zuber have seen the present painting and date it to circa 1790-95.  It will be included in their forthcoming catalogue raisonné on the works of Boilly.

Still lifes by Boilly are rare, with only about fifteen known.  Both the overall composition and the attention to detail reveal Boilly's emulation of the Dutch 17th century still life masters, from Ambrosius Bosschaert (1573-1621) and his followers, to the works of artists such as Willem van Aelst (1627-1683) and Rachel Ruysch (1664-1750).  Another still life by Boilly was sold at Sotheby's New York, January 17, 1992, lot 95, for $253,000 (Still Life of Flowers in a Glass Vase, Two Birds, Another Branch of Blossoms and an Insect All on a Table, signed L. Boilly, oil on panel, 12 3/4  by 10 1/2  in.).