School of Bruges, early 16th century

With Paul Cassirer Gallery, Berlin, 1922 (according to Marlier);
Acquired by Raul Edwards Mac-Clure Esq., during the early part of the 20th century;
Thence by direct descent to his daughter Mrs Carmen Edwards de Ferrari;
Thence by descent to her nephew, until sold, ("Property from a Private Collection"), London, Sotheby's, 7 July 2005, lot 110, for £70,000.

G. Marlier, Ambrosius Benson et la peinture à Bruges au temps de Charles-Quint, Damme 1957, p. 287, no. 22 (as Ambrosius Benson and Studio).

This unusual nocturnal Adoration of the Shepherds is also known through a variant, of slightly smaller dimensions (approx. 71.5 by 84 cm.), which forms the central panel of a triptych (the wings representing Saint Jerome and Saint Anthony of Padua), listed by Marlier as in the Town Hall, Segovia (see Marlier, under Literature, pp. 280-81, cat. no. 2, reproduced plate LIV). The author attributes both versions to Ambrosius Benson and his studio. A number of significant differences exist between the two works, the most notable of which is that the Segovia picture is set during the daytime, with an entirely different depiction of the Annunciation to the Shepherds in the distance; and the scene includes the addition of another angel above the Christ Child and an extra shepherd beside the piper, both absent in the present work.