Melchior d'Hondecoeter

"The following condition report has been provided by Henry Gentle, an independent restorer who is not an employee of Sotheby's. The original canvas has been lined. The paint surface is secure. The sky has been extensively retouched in order to strengthen a previously abraded and damaged paint layer. There are also significant restored paint losses through the tail of the cockerel, the tail of the hen extending down through the chick beneath, the hen's head and elsewhere in the mid and foregrounds. Most of the retouching is visible under U-V light . Significant pale cracking is evident in the darker passages. Original scumbles and glazing have been compromised."
"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."

We are grateful to Fred G. Meijer for endorsing the attribution to Hondecoeter on inepsection of the original. He considers this still life an early work by the artist.

In its subdued palette this work is typical of Hondecoeter's early work from the 1660s and may be compared with a similar work sold, Amsterdam, Christie's, 9 May 2001, lot 137, in which several compositional motifs are repeated.