Willem van Aelst (Delft 1627 - In or after 1683 Amsterdam (?), A still life with tulips and other flowers in a vase on a marble ledge, with a lizard and a butterfly. Photo Sotheby's

oil on oak panel; 45.7 by 32.1 cm.; 18 by 12 5/8 in. ESTIMATE 30,000-40,000 GBP. Lot Sold: 91,250 GBP

PROVENANCE: Lt. Col. G. B. Bryant, OBE, MC;

Earl of Drogheda (according to an inscription on the reverse);

Anonymous sale ('The Property of a Gentleman'), London, Christie's, 27 June 1969, lot 92 (as Rachel Ruysch and as one of a pair, with the following lot).

EXHIBITED: Leamington Spa, Leamington Spa Art Gallery, Art Treasures of Warwickshire Exhibition, 29 May - 3 July 1948 (as Rachel Ruysch).

NOTE: Both this and the following lot display strong similarities and similar dimensions to a work by Van Aelst sold in London, Christie's, 25 April 2008, lot 27, which has since been cleaned to reveal a signature and the date 1651/2. It is possible that together these works formed part of a series, created whilst Van Aelst was working in Florence as court painter to Ferdinando II de' Medici between 1649 and 1656.

We are grateful to Drs. Fred G. Meijer of the Rijksbureau voor Kunsthistorische Documentatie for endorsing the attribution on the basis of photographs.

Sotheby's. Old Master and British Paintings Day Sale, London | 08 Dec 2011 www.sothebys.com