PIETER CASTEELS | An group of birds, including a peacock, hens, and dove in a garden setting with fountain

signed and dated lower left “P Casteels [PC in ligature] F. / 1719”

The following condition report has been provided by Simon Parkes of Simon Parkes Art Conservation, Inc. 502 East 74th St. New York, NY 212-734-3920, simonparkes@msn.com, an independent restorer who is not an employee of Sotheby's This work is restored and if the varnish were addressed it would be ready to hang. To the right and left of the blue neck of the peacock there are three vertical damages that have been restored. There are two or three other retouched losses in the branch of the tree in the upper center. There is significant abrasion to the paint layer that has developed over time and this has required retouching. There is a long vertical scratch running through the tail of the peacock into the brown tail feathers that has been retouched. The work should not be cleaned. The condition is uneven but the work looks well nonetheless.
"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."

Pieter Casteels III belonged to a family of artists: his father, Pieter Casteels, and his brother, Frans Casteels, were also painters.  Although a native of Antwerp, Casteels moved to England with his brother-in-law, Pieter Tillemans, in 1708, and in 1711 he became the Director of Sir Godfrey Kneller’s Academy.  Besides a brief return to Antwerp in 1713, Casteels spent much of his life working in England, where he specialized in painting flower still lifes as well as farmyard scenes with animals for the English aristocracy’s country houses.  Often conceived as part of an interior to be used as overdoors or chimney pieces, these paintings commanded a great clientele, and their decorative function dictated their proportions and low viewpoints. 

This magnificent and beautifully preserved work by Casteels certainly would have been part of an important commission given the size of the canvas and grandeur of the birds featured.  Though many beautiful and exotic birds are featured, the composition is dominated by a male peacock whose magnificent tail cascades diagonally down into the foreground.