Jan Peeters the Elder

Emmanuel Fresart de Clercx de Waroux, Château de Chockier, Belgium;
Van Dyck collection, The Netherlands;
With Galeries Jan de Maere, Brussels (as Abraham Storck);
From whom purchased by the husband of the present owner in 1997.

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. The painting has not been recently restored. The canvas has been lined using wax as an adhesive, and the paint layer is stable as a result. The work has been retouched, but none of this is recent. If the picture were cleaned, the palette would certainly brighten. Given the fact that the retouches are not as numerous as one might expect, the condition will improve as a result of the cleaning, although retouches will be required. This is a large picture on canvas, and a good deal of weakness has developed in some of the darker colors, particularly in some of the details. The work could also be hung as is.
"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."

We are grateful to Drs. Laurens Schoemaker of the RKD, The Hague for confirming this painting to be a work by Jan Peeters, the Elder.  This attribution that was first proposed by C. J. A. Wansink, the former marine painting specialist at the RKD, in 1989.