Attributed to Gillis van Tilborch c.1625- c. 1678

George, 3rd Earl of Pomfret (1768-1830), or his brother The Hon. Thomas Fermor, later 4th Earl of Pomfret (1770-1833)

George Baker, The History and Antiquities of the County of Northamptonshire, 1838, part IV, p.145, as 'Flemish Musical Party, Palamedes', and hanging in the Music Room;
PM 1919, p.1, item 4, as 'Given to Gerard Terburgh' and hanging in the Picture Hall

Musical concerts were a recurring theme in genre portraits and became popular in the Southern Netherlands from the 1640s.  These portraits reflected the contemporary practice amongst the nobility and upper bourgeoisie of holding informal domestic performances with family and friends.  Musical instruments became ubiquitous props denoting social refinement.  A harpsichord, for example, such as that depicted in this painting, was popular only among the upper classes since it was costly to buy and maintain, and thus came to be viewed as a status symbol.  The concerts themselves were a vehicle for representing casual interaction among the figures.  This painting can be compared to the Family Concert, attributed to Gillis van Tilborch in the Hunterian Museum, Glasgow (AC2179).