Edwaert Collier (Breda active before 1663 - 1708 Leiden (?)), Vanitas still life with a globe, a violin and bow, lemon peel, a recorder, a musical score, an open book, an hour glass and other objects. Photo Sotheby's

signed and dated on piece of paper lower centre: Edward. Collier. fecit and inscribed on a piece of paper in the centre: HAEC MEA / VOLUP. / TAS. ('This is my pleasure');, oil on canvas, 100 by 125 cm.; 39 3/8 by 49 1/4 in. Estimation 80,000 — 120,000 GBP

Provenance: Spencer collection;
Acquired by Paul Rich, 1970;
With Peter Tillou, Litchfield, CT, 1970–90;
Private Collection, Lima, Peru, from 1990;
With Peter Tillou, Litchfield Connecticut, 2011, from whom acquired by the present owner

Collier's favoured compositions usually consisted of elements present in this work, such as the globe, the violin, the recorders and the meticulously rendered sheet music and well-thumbed printed copy of Johannes Leunclavius’s Apology for Zosimus, published in 1684. All the elements come together with the inclusion of the foreboding MEMENTO MORI sign in the upper right of the composition, reminding us that the globe and hour glass indicate our time on earth is running out, and that the snapped strings of the violin warn of the impermanence of life’s worldly pleasures.

Edwaert Collier moved from Leiden to London in 1693 after separating from his third wife in eleven years. He stayed in London until at least 1702 and perhaps as late as 1706. He painted vanitas still-lifes in the Leiden tradition throughout his career for both the Dutch and English markets. It is probable that this work was executed during Collier's time in England given the anglicised version of his signature and the inclusion of the image of Sir Anthony van Dyck, the pre-eminent court painter in early seventeenth-century England.

Sotheby's. Old Master & British Paintings Day Sale.London | 10 juil. 2014, 10:30 AM - http://www.sothebys.com/