Koller to offer a fine selection of works by Northern European masters

4 septembre 2022

Koller to offer a fine selection of works by Northern European masters

Lot 3029. Dirck van Baburen (1595 Utrecht 1624), The Offering to Ceres. Circa 1621. Oil on canvas. 137 × 186,7 cm. Estimate CHF 500 000 / 800 000 | (€ 500 000 / 800 000). © Nagel

ZURICH.- 'The Offering to Ceres', a striking large-format painting in the manner of Caravaggio, will be featured in the Old Master Paintings auction on 23 September at Koller. The artist, Dirck van Baburen, was part of a contingent of early 17th-century Dutch artists who made a pilgrimage to Rome to view Caravaggio's works, and brought the master's unique style back to their native Holland, where they would influence a generation of artists including Rembrandt and Vermeer (lot 3029, CHF 500 000/800 000). From the same period, a painting by Denijs van Alsloot and workshop depicts a grand feast organised for the Archduke Albrecht VII of Austria and Isabella Clara Eugenia of Spain (lot 3050, CHF 150 000/250 000). Two particularly attractive winter scenes will be offered in the 23 September auction, a roundel by Adriaen Pietersz. van de Venne (lot 3020, CHF 300 000/400 000), and a view of a town with a frozen river by Joos de Momper the Younger and Jan Brueghel the Younger (lot 3026, CHF 150 000/200 000). Angelica Kauffmann is represented by an unusual self-portrait depicting her with her artist's materials (lot 3071, CHF 30 000/50 000), and an allegorical scene, 'Dido at the stake' (lot 3074, CHF 70 000/90 000). Kauffmann enjoyed an exceptionally rewarding, independent career at a time when women artists faced significant hurdles to success.

Lot 3029. Dirck van Baburen (1595 Utrecht 1624), The Offering to Ceres. Circa 1621. Oil on canvas. 137 × 186,7 cm. Estimate CHF 500 000 / 800 000 | (€ 500 000 / 800 000). © Nagel

Provenance: - Probably private collection of François Quesnel (1543–1619), Paris (as Bartolomeo Manfredi).
- Private collection of Jean-François Séguier (1703–1784), Nîmes (as Valentin de Boulogne).
- Private collection of Anthelme-Michel-Laurent de Migieu, Marquis de Savigny (1723–1788), Paris, 1751 (as Valentin de Boulogne).
- By descent, private collection of René Gaspar Vicomte de Vaulchier, Savigny-lès-Beaune, Côte-d’Or, 1952.
- Sale Sotheby’s, London, 4.12.2013, Lot 18.
- Private collection

Exhibited: - Utrecht/Antwerp 1952, Caravaggio en de Nederlanden, Centraal Museum, Utrecht, 15.6–3.8.1952 / Koninklijk Museum voor schone Kunsten, Antwerp, 10.8.–28.9.1952, no. 91 (as attributed to Hendrick ter Brugghen, possibly Baburen).
- Dijon 1958, Les plus belles œuvres de la Côte-d’Or, Musée de Dijon, Palais des Etats de Bourgogne, 1958, no. 32.

Literature: - Probably Vicomte de Grouchy: Inventaire des tableaux de François Quesnel (1697), in: Nouvelles archives de l'art français, 8ème année, 1892, p. 93 (as Bartolomeo Manfredi: ‘un sacrifice à Flore de Manfrede’).
- Probably manuscript 130, fonds Séguier, Bibliothèque de Nîmes (as Valentin de Boulogne: ‘des sacrificateurs, un soldat, mènent au dieu trois femmes portant des corbeilles de fleurs; for bon de dessin et de clair-obscur, par Valentin’).
- Laurent de Migieu: Livre de Dépenses, Archives du Comte de Savigny, 1751, no. 9 in the list of works previously owned by M. Seguier (as ‘un sacrifice de Valentin’).
- Exh. cat. Caravaggio en de Nederlanden, Utrecht/Antwerp 1952, p. 56, cat. no. 91, fig. 69.
- Benedict Nicolson: Caravaggio and the Netherlands, review of Utrecht/Antwerp exhibition, in: The Burlington Magazine, vol. XCIV, no. 594, September 1952, p. 248 and footnote 13 (as Baburen).
- Vitale Bloch: I Caraveggeschi a Utrecht e Anversa, in: Paragone, no. 33, September 1952, p. 18 (dated circa 1622–1624, from Baburen’s period in Utrecht).
- Exh. cat. Les plus belles œuvres des collections de la Côte-d’Or, Dijon 1958, p. 21, cat. no. 32, fig. VII.
- Benedict Nicolson: Hendrick Terbrugghen, The Hague 1958, p. 53, mentioned under number A12, and p. 119 as ‘works wrongly attributed to Terbrugghen’ (as Baburen circa 1622).
- Leonard J. Slatkes: Dirck van Baburen (c. 1595–1624): A Dutch Painter in Utrecht and Rome, Proefschrift, University of Utrecht 1962, Text pp. 54–55, cat. no. A8, p. 101.
- Leonard J. Slatkes: Dirck van Baburen (c. 1595–1624): A Dutch Painter in Utrecht and Rome, Utrecht 1965, Text pp. 54–55, cat. no. A8, p. 112, fig. 12; also mentioned under cat. no. A19 and A22 (as a late work of the Rome period, or early work of the Utrecht period, circa 1620).
- Arnauld Brejon de Lavergnée: New Paintings by Bartolommeo Manfredi, in: The Burlington Magazine, vol. 121, no. 914, 1979, p. 310 (‘un sacrifice à Flore de Manfrede’ in the inventory as 1697 from the collection of François de Quesnel).
- Benedict Nicolson: The International Caravaggesque Movement, Oxford 1979, pp. 19, 220, 248.
- Rüdiger Klessmann: Utrechter Caravaggisten zwischen Manierismus und Klassizismus, in: Hendrick ter Brugghen und die Nachfolger Caravaggios in Holland: Beiträge eines Symposium im Herzog Anton Ulrich-Museum, Braunschweig, 23.–25.3.1987, Braunschweig 1988, p. 60, fig. 68 and p. 64, footnote 5.
- Benedict Nicolson and Luisa Vertova: Caravaggism in Europe, Turin 1989, vol. I, p. 56 and vol. III, plate 1045.
- R. Morselli: Baburen, Dirck (Jaspersz) van, in: Saur Allgemeines Künstler-Lexikon. Die bildenden aller Künstler Zeiten und Völker, vol. VI, Munich and Leipzig 1992, p. 110.
- M. Giulia Aurigemma: Gherardo, Enrico, Teodoro ed altri simili, in: L'asino iconoclasta. Seicento Olandese: proposte di lettura, problemi di metodo e di interpretazione, Rome 1993, p. 42.
- Valentina White: Il soggiorno romano di Dirck van Baburen. La commitenza e le opere, in: Irene Baldriga und Silvia Danesi Squarzina (ed.): Fiaminghi che vanno e vengono no li si puol dar regola. Paesi Bassi e Italia fra Cinquecento e seicento: pittura, storia e cultura degli emblemi, Rome 1995, pp. 185–88, fig. 8 (as a scene from the play ‘Granida’ by Pieter Cornelisz. Hooft, 1615).
- Leonard J. Slatkes: Bringing Ter Brugghen and Baburen Up-to-Date, in: Bulletin du Musée national de Varsovie, vol. XXXVII, 1996, p. 206, footnote 35 and p. 207, fig. 4 (dated 1621).
- Joaneath Spicer et al.: Masters of Light: Dutch Painters in Utrecht during the Golden Age, exh. cat. San Francisco/Baltimore/London 1997, p. 423, footnote 5 under cat. no. 41, pp. 254–256 (as an early work of the Utrecht period).
- Leonard J. Slatkes und Wayne Franits: The Paintings of Hendrick ter Brugghen 1588–1629. Catalogue Raisonné, Amsterdam/Philadelphia 2007, pp. 19–20, fig. 14; also mentioned under cat. no. A32, pp. 121–122 (footnote 4) and A62, pp. 176 and 178 (footnote 11).
- Wayne Franits: The Paintings of Dirck van Baburen ca. 1592/93–1624. Catalogue Raisonné, Amsterdam/Philadelphia 2013, pp. 109–110, cat. no. A15, also mentioned p. 44, footnote 240, pp. 46, 107, 111, 115, 141, 161, ill p. 260, colour ill. VIII and p. 289, plate 15.

Note: By virtue of both its size and the bold and experimental nature of its composition, the painting offered here constitutes one of the most ambitious and imaginative works by the Utrecht master Dirck van Baburen. Painted immediately after Baburen’s return to the Netherlands from Rome around 1620/21, this work is still entirely influenced by Caravaggio's genius. The motif, rare in terms of its iconography, depicts the offering to Ceres, in which an assembly of mortals make offerings to the deity of the harvest, shown as a statue in the background on the left.

Leonard J. Slatkes (1962) originally assumed that the work was created in the final years of Baburen’s time in Rome, where he had resided for eight years. However, given its affinity with the similarly sized ‘The Taking of Christ’ in the Borghese Gallery (inv. no. 28; see Franits 2013, cat. no. A13), painted around 1619 – shortly before Baburen’s departure from Rome – both Slatkes and Wayne Franits have, in more recent publications, agreed on a date of around 1621. This places the present painting at the forefront of the much-vaunted Utrecht period, during which Baburen, together with Gerrit van Honthorst (1592–1656) and Hendrick Ter Brugghen (1588–1629), led the group of painters known as the Utrecht Caravaggists until Baburen’s early death in 1624.

The relationship between these artists and their studios was so close that motifs and designs were often shared: the same figure of a soldier seen in the earlier work ‘The Taking of Christ’, was placed by Baburen at the centre of the composition presented here and was also used by Ter Brugghen for both his ‘Beheading of St John the Baptist’ (Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City; see Slatkes/Franits 2007, cat. no. A32) and his ‘Piper’ (Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister, Kassel, inv. no. GK179; see Slatkes/Franits 2007, cat. no. A62). Baburen’s use of this dominant figure for both ‘The Taking of Christ’ and ‘Offering to Ceres’, is a quotation from Caravaggio’s own ‘The Taking of Christ’ (National Gallery of Ireland, Dublin, inv. no. L.14702), though here the figure of the soldier is clearly more dominant.

A somewhat later date of 1622 was suggested by Dr Fred. G. Meijer (see RKD archive no. 107755), who believes that the small floral wreath on the right was painted by Balthasar van der Ast (1593–1657). This would be an unusual example of a collaboration between Baburen and another artist, although not entirely surprising given Baburen’s willingness to exchange motifs with other potential rivals.

The sharp contours, bright tonality and colourful palette clearly situate this ‘Offering to Ceres’ in the artist’s ultimately brief Utrecht period. Franits (2013) lists only thirty-six paintings by Baburen’s own hand, fourteen of which were painted in Rome and twenty-two in Utrecht.

Lot 3050. Denijs van Alsloot and Studio (c. 1570 Brussels c. 1626). The Archduke Albrecht and Archduchess Isabella at an outdoor feast in Vivier d'Oye near Brussels. Oil on canvas. 151 × 239.5 cm. Estimate CHF 150 000 / 250 000 | (€ 150 000 / 250 000). © Nagel

Provenance: - Sale Sotheby’s, London, 3.7.1985, Lot 43 (as Denijs van Alsloot).
- With del Jan de Maere, Brussels, 1985.
- European private collection.

Literature: - Jan de Maere: Illustrated Dictionary of 17th Century Flemish Painters, vol. I, Brussels 1994, ill. pp. 24 and 85 (as Denis van Alsloot).
- Sabine van Sprang: Denijs van Alsloot. Peintre paysagiste au service de la cour des archiducs Albert et Isabelle, Turnhout 2014, cat. no. FR10, plate 101 (as workshop of Denijs van Alsloot and Antoon Sallaert).

Note: n 15 May 1615, at the annual shooting competition of the crossbowmen of the ‘Grand Serment’ — one of the most prestigious guilds in Brussels — Archduchess Isabella Clara Eugenia of Spain shot down the bird (the ‘papegai’) attached to the top of the spire of the church of Notre-Dame du Sablon in Brussels. She was proclaimed Queen of the guild and the occasion was celebrated over multiple days. Isabella and Albert VII of Austria, rulers of the Catholic Spanish Netherlands, wanted to place a special light on these festivities that had brought the court and the whole city together. To this end, they commissioned Denijs van Alsloot, amongst others, with a series of eight monumental paintings that were to depict the most memorable moments of the celebrations and that were displayed from 1620 onwards in the great gallery of the castle of Tervuren, one of the favourite residences of the Dukes of Brabant. The participation of Infanta Isabella in the archery competition of the ‘Grand Serment’ crossbowmen of Brussels was part of a long-standing tradition. For over a century, the guild had been inviting the Duke of Brabant to this annual event. After the religious and political turmoil that had beset the Province of Brabant in the second half of the 16th century, the celebrations surrounding Isabella's victory were highly symbolic and in a sense represented tangible proof of normalisation and a new era of prosperity.

At the festival at the Vivier d’Oye, the military guilds of Brussels march to the right of the pond with a flag bearing the Cross of Burgundy. Several members of the crossbowmen's guild can be seen. Games are already taking place on the water, while spectators from all sides jostle to get a good place to view the spectacle. The archducal couple attends the festivities in the leafy pavilion at the right edge of the pond. Their central, yet isolated position, a simultaneous expression of both affection and superiority over their citizenry, fits perfectly with the contemporary image of sovereignty and its ideals of prudence and moderation. The medallion with the image of the Virgin and Child on the left bank of the pond seems to suggest that the water spectacle may have been entrusted to the guild of poets called the ‘Guirlande de Marie’. The Sonian Forest (Forêt de Soignes), the setting for these festivities located just to the southeast of Brussels, was Habsburg hunting ground and had played a major role in the choice of Brussels as the residence for the Dukes of Burgundy and their successors. The selection of this location to celebrate the victory of the crossbow competition by the Habsburg and excellent huntress Isabella of Spain emphasised the longstanding close ties between the city and the court.

Albert VII and Isabella Clara Eugenia had already appointed the artist Denijs van Alsloot as the official painter of their court in Brussels around 1600. His task was to record their possessions for posterity and to depict the festivities and processions that took place during their reign. For his figural compositions, Alsloot often collaborated with Hendrick de Clerck (1570–1629), Jan Brueghel the Elder (1568–1625) and especially with Antoon Sallaert (1594–1650), as in the work offered here. Van Alsloot's role in the series of festivities resembles that of a contractor — delegating parts of the execution to his workshop, even if he was engaged in them himself. Sallaert had also been involved in this commission from the outset and can be considered an equal creator. In the Netherlands, subcontracting had been common in painting since the 15th century, and external labour was usually paid per piece or per day. Van Alsloot was famous for his wooded landscapes, especially his views of the Forêt de Soignes. His forest depictions are characterised by bright, soft colours and greater precision than the works of the older Flemish master Gillis van Coninxloo (1544–1607), who also influenced his work. The play of light in the foliage of the beech trees is reduced to the essentials, aiming for the greatest possible effect from a distance.

The first version of our painting, signed by Denijs van Alsloot, dated 1616, monogrammed by Antoon Sallaert and located in the Archdukes' collection at castle of Tervuren from 1620 onwards, is today in the collection of the Museo del Prado in Madrid (inv. no. 2570; see Van Sprang 2014, cat. no. F8, plate 96). The works from the series that depict the Ommeganck, a type of medieval procession, held in Brussels on 31 May 1615 are also in the Museo del Prado (inv. nos. P001347 and P001348). Further works from the series are located in the Victoria & Albert Museum in London (inv. nos. 5928-1859, 168-1885 and 169-1885).
Another version of our painting depicting the festivities at Vivier d'Oye is in the Musées Royaux des Beaux-Arts de Belgique in Brussels (oil on canvas, 120 × 322 cm, inv. no. 3446). There is every indication that our version and the Brussels version were painted under the supervision of Van Alsloot and Sallaert, and were directly inspired by the original painting in the Prado. In fact, the history of the first version indicates that it certainly remained in the Netherlands and possibly even in the studio of one of the artists until 1620, thus allowing sufficient time for replicas to be produced. In this regard, it should be noted that no other public festival from the period of Albert and Isabella led to such an extensive production of commemorative works, and it can be assumed that everyone involved in the 1615 celebrations had a souvenir: the Spanish King Philip III, the Archdukes, the city of Brussels, the crossbowmen of the Great Oath and even the town citizens, who received a print.

Lot 3020. Adriaen Pietersz. van de Venne (Delft 1589–1662 The Hague), Winter landscape with elegant figures. Oil on panel. Signed lower left: AVenne. 21 cm D (round). Estimate CHF 300 000 / 400 000 | (€ 300 000 / 400 000). © Nagel

Provenance: - Private collection, The Netherlands, before 1961.
- With P. de Boer, Amsterdam, 1961.
- With Alfred Brod Gallery, London, 1961.
- Private collection of Mr and Mrs Henry H. Weldon, New York.
- Sale Sotheby's, New York, The Weldon Collection Sale, 22.4.2015, Lot 8.
- Private collection.

Exhibited: - London 1961, Annual Autumn Exhibition of Paintings of Old Dutch and Flemish Masters, Alfred Brod Gallery, 5.10–4.11.1961, no. 60.
- Providence 1964, Northern Baroque Paintings and Drawings from the Collection of Mr. and Mrs. Henry H. Weldon, Museum of Art, Rhode Island School of Design, 15.4.–7.6.1964, no. 24.
- New York 1966, The Collection of Mr and Mrs Henry H. Weldon, Finch College Museum of Art, 11.5.–30.6.1966, no. 40.
- Birmingham 1995, The Golden Age of Dutch Painting, Birmingham, AL, 22.4.–18.6.1995, no. 22.
- New Orleans 1997, In the Eye of the Beholder: Northern Baroque Paintings form the Collection of Henry H. Weldon, New Orleans Museum of Art, no. 56.
- Baltimore 1999, An Eye for Detail. 17th Century Dutch and Flemish Paintings from the Collection of Henry H. Weldon, The Walters Art Gallery, 20.6.–5.9.1999, no. 56.

Literature: - Apollo, London, September 1961, ill. title page.
- The Connoisseur, October 1961, p. xxxiv, with ill.
- Exh.cat. Providence 1964, cat. no. 24.
- Exh.cat. New Orleans 1997, pp. 142–144, cat.no. 56, ill. p. 143.
- Exh.cat. Baltimore 1999, pp. 130–132, cat.no. 56, ill. p. 131.
- Edwin Buijsen: De schilderijenproductie van Adriaen Pietersz. van de Venne (1589–1662). Traditie - Innovatie - Commercie, Dissertation, Nijmegen 2018, vol. I, p. 74, footnote 8.

Our thanks to Dr Edwin Buijsen for his expert assistance in cataloguing this painting.

Lot 3026. Joos de Momper the Younger (1564 Antwerp 1635) and Jan Brueghel the Younger (1601 Antwerp 1678), Winter townscape by a frozen river. Oil on panel. 74 × 106 cm. Estimate CHF 300 000 / 400 000 | (€ 300 000 / 400 000). © Nagel

Provenance: European collection.

Certificate: Dr Klaus Ertz, 8.7.2022.

Dr Klaus Ertz has examined the painting in the original and has dated it to towards the end of the 1620s, circa 1630.

Lot 3071. Angelica Kauffmann (Chur 1741–1807 Rome), Self portrait. 1780. Oil on panel. Inscribed verso probably at a later date: Angelika Kauffman painted by herself in the year 1780. 18 × 14 cm. Estimate CHF 30 000 / 50 000 | (€ 30 000 / 50 000). © Nagel

Provenance: - Sale Sotheby's, New York, 8.6.1988, Lot 75.
- With art trade, Vienna.
- Collection of Stefan and Monika Schminck, Frankfurt a. M.
- European private collection.

Exhibited: - Konstanz 1992, Angelika Kauffmann (1741–1807), Marie Ellenrieder (1791–1863): Malerei und Graphik. Städtische Museen Konstanz, 30.5.-23.8.1992, no. 2 A. K.
- Bremen 1993, "... ihr werten Frauenzimmer, auf!": Malerinnen der Aufklärung zum Festival des Historischen Frauen-Kunst und Kultur-Projekts. Roselius-Haus, 27.11.1993–9.1.1994, no. 7.
- Gotha 1999, Zwischen Ideal und Wirklichkeit: Künstlerinnen der Goethe-Zeit zwischen 1750 und 1850. Schlossmuseum Gotha, 1.4.–18.7.1999, no. A 10.

Literature: - Exh.cat. Angelika Kauffmann (1741–1807), Marie Ellenrieder (1791–1863): Malerei und Graphik, ed. von Städtische Museen Konstanz, Konstanz 1992, p. 142, cat. no. 2 A. K. (with ill.).
- Exh.cat. "... ihr werten Frauenzimmer, auf!": Malerinnen der Aufklärung zum Festival des Historischen Frauen-Kunst und Kultur-Projekts, ed. Bettina Baumgärtel, Bremen 1993, p. 83, cat. no. 7.
- Exh.cat. Angelika Kauffmann, ed. Bettina Baumgärtel, Düsseldorf, München und Chur 1998-1999, p. 228, Kat.-Nr. 107, Fussnote 2.
- Exh.cat. Zwischen Ideal und Wirklichkeit: Künstlerinnen der Goethe-Zeit zwischen 1750 und 1850, hrsg. von Bärbel Kovalevski, Ostfildern-Ruit 1999, p. 87, cat.no. A 10 and p. 271, plate 78 (with ill.).

Lot 3074. Angelica Kauffmann (Chur 1741–1807 Rome), Dido at the funeral pyre calling on the gods. Oil on copper. Verso embossed mark in the panel: WHITTOW & LARGE. 32.5 × 26.5 cm. 32.5 × 26.5 cm. Estimate CHF 70 000 / 90 000 | (€ 70 000 / 90 000) © Nagel

Provenance: - With Galleria Dell’ Angelo, Lugano.
- Private collection, Switzerland.

Certificate: Dr Bettina Baumgärtel, 29.9.2021.

Among the 19th Century Paintings, three works by Eugène Boudin will be presented, including a classic scene of the port of Le Havre with tall sailing ships (lot 3208, CHF 120 000/160 000). A dramatic landscape with figures before an approaching storm by Barend Cornelis Koekkoek is expected to fetch between CHF 50 000 and 70 000 (lot 3235). One of the most celebrated Scandinavian realist landscape painters, Peder Mørk Mønsted, created the 1907 river landscape in the sale (lot 3222, CHF 40 000/60 000), as well as a landscape from Germany, where he was particularly appreciated during his lifetime (lot 3240, CHF 18 000/25 000).

Lot 3208. Eugène Louis Boudin (Honfleur 1824–1898 Deauville), Le Havre, Bassin de la Barre. 1892. Oil on panel. Signed and dated lower left: E. Boudin 92. Dated lower right: 7 Aout ’92. 32 × 40.5 cm. Estimate CHF 120 000 / 160 000 | (€ 120 000 / 160 000). © Nagel

Provenance: - Epstein Collection, Paris, acquired directly from the artist in 1892.
- Legrand Collection, Paris.
- Collection of Antal Post de Bekessy (1943–2015).
- Sale Drouot, Paris, 24.3.2009, Lot 62.
- Private collection, Europe.
- Sale Sotheby's, Paris, 19.12.2017, Lot 127.
- European collection.

Exhibited: Paris 1947, Exposition Boudin, Galerie Michalon (label on verso) .

Literature: Robert Schmit: Eugène Boudin, 1824–1898, Paris 1973, deuxième supplément, p. 71, no. 4020 (with ill. and differing dimensions).

Lot 3235. Barend Cornelis Koekkoek (Middelburg 1803–1862 Cleves). Farmer near a forest during an approaching storm. 1847. Oil on canvas. Signed and dated lower right: B.C.Koekkoek. 1847. 70,5 × 84,5 cm. Estimate CHF 50 000 / 70 000 | (€ 50 000 / 70 000). © Nagel

Lot 3222. Peder Mørk Mønsted (Grena 1859–1941 Kopenhagen). A river landscape. 1907. Oil on canvas. Signed and dated lower right: T Mônsted. 1907. 70.3 × 101 cm. Estimate CHF 40 000 / 60 000 | (€ 40 000 / 60 000). © Nagel

Lot 3240. Peder Mørk Mønsted (Grena 1859–1941 Kopenhagen). Spreewald. 1909. Oil on canvas. Signed, inscribed and dated lower left: P Mônsted. Spreewald. 1909. 35.3 × 59.3 cm. Estimate CHF 18 000 / 25 000 | (€ 18 000 / 25 000). © Nagel

The Books & Autographs auction on 21 September features the greatest work by artist and naturalist Maria Sybilla Merian on the insects and fauna of Surinam (lot 207, CHF 120 000/160 000). In order to produce this richly illustrated volume, from 1699 to 1701 Merian undertook a long and hazardous journey to the Dutch colony, accompanied only by her daughter. Among the highlights of the Decorative Arts auction on 22 September are a Louis XV lacquer commode in the manner of Jacques Dubois (lot 1135, CHF 60 000/100 000), and a very rare Meissen porcelain Bantam rooster teapot, 1730 (lot 1059, CHF 26 000/30 000).

Lot 207. Maria Sybilla Merian, Over de voortteeling en wonderbaerlyke veranderingen der Surinaamsche insecten... With gest. col. Frontispiece, col. title vignette, col. Vignette in the preface and 72 copper plates by J. Mulder, P. Sluyter a. D. Stoopendael after M. S. Merian. - [ASSOCIATED:] De europische Insecten. Naauwkeurig onderzogt, nat leven geschildert ein in print gebragt. With gest. col. Frontispiece, col. Title vignette, col. Vignette at the end of the text as well as 188 (instead of 184, plates CXVII-CXX are double) col. Engravings, four on each plate. 2 parts in 1 volume. Amsterdam, Oosterwyk, 1719 and Bernard, 1730. 53 × 38 cm. Full leather of the time with ornamental gilt on cover and spine and marbled edges all over (spine and corners neatly restored, somewhat bumped and scuffed, cover with small missing parts). Estimate CHF 120 000 / 160 000 | (€ 120 000 / 160 000). © Nagel

Lot 1135. Lacquer commode, Louis XV, Paris, ca. 1760, the European lacquer work from the 18th or 19th century. Bears a later signature by DUBOIS (Jacques Dubois, maître 1742) and the sign of the guild JME. Wood, lacquered all-around in the "goût chinois"; decorated with polychrome human figures in an idealized park- and pagoda landscape on a black ground. Front with two sans-traverse drawers. Matte and polished gilt bronze mounts and sabots, in part later. Shaped "Brèche d'Alep" marble top. 102 × 52 × 88 cm. Estimate CHF 60 000 / 100 000 | (€ 60 000 / 100 000). © Nagel

Lot 1059. Rare teapot designed as a Japanese Bantam cock, Meissen, ca. 1730. Model by J. G. Kirchner, the painting later, probably ca. 1735. On a flat base, designed as a vine leaf with a green rim. The curved tail feathers cover an open back for pouring in the tea, which is served from the beak, in which the cock holds a blue kernel. The plumage is naturalistically staffed in dark brown, russet, and green over purple, the comb and the beak are painted red. The colorful kernels are painted in red, yellow and blue. Blue caduceus mark on the unglazed bottom. H 15 cm, L 19 cm. Estimate CHF 26 000 / 30 000 | (€ 26 000 / 30 000). © Nagel

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