Old Masters Day Sale, including portrait miniatures from the collection of the late Dr Erika Pohl-Ströher

Old Masters Day Sale, including portrait miniatures from the collection of the late Dr Erika Pohl-Ströher

View full screen - View 1 of Lot 106. The Mass of Saint Gregory.

Property from the Collection of Sir Peter Jonas

Jacob Cornelisz. van Oostsanen

The Mass of Saint Gregory

VAT reduced rate

Lot Closed

December 9, 02:06 PM GMT

Estimate

20,000 - 30,000 GBP

Lot Details

Description

Property from the Collection of Sir Peter Jonas

Jacob Cornelisz. van Oostsanen

Oostsanen circa 1470 - 1533 Amsterdam

The Mass of Saint Gregory


inscribed on the altar cloth: GREGORIV

oil on panel

unframed: 24.8 x 68.5 cm.; 9¾ x 27 in.

framed: 32.2 x 76 cm.; 12⅝ x 29⅞ in.

Possibly private collection, England, during the 19th century (as Jan Gossaert, called Mabuse);
Victoria, Princess Royal of Great Britain, Empress of Germany and Queen of Prussia, wife of King Friedrich III of Prussia (1840–1901), her insignia and inventory number '224' painted on the reverse;
Thence by descent to her grandson, Philipp, Landgrave of Hesse (1896–1980), Schloss Kronberg;
With Paul Cassirer, Amsterdam, 1929;
Private collection, Zürich, by 1934 (probably Alfred Hausamann);
Alfred Hausamann (d. 2002), Zürich;
By whose descendants sold ('Property from a Prestigious Swiss Collection'), London, Christie's, 3 July 2013, lot 102;
Where acquired by Sir Peter Jonas (1946–2020).
P. Wescher, 'Berlin', in Pantheon, vol. 2, 1928, pp. 610–11;
K. Steinbart, 'Nachlese im Werke des Jacob Cornelisz', in Marburger Jahrbuch für Kunstwissenschaft, vol. 5, 1929, p. 217, reproduced fig. 6 (as datable to circa 1505);
M.J. Friedländer, Early Netherlandish Painting, vol. XII, Leiden 1975, p. 118, no. 281, reproduced pl. 149 (as datable to circa 1512);
J.L. Carroll, The paintings of Jacob Cornelisz. van Oostsanen, doctoral diss., North Carolina University 1987, pp. 217–20, no. 22, reproduced fig. 488 (as datable to circa 1513).
Amsterdam, Rijksmuseum, Tentoonstelling van oude Kunst door de Vereeniging van Handelaren in Oude Kunst in Nederland, July – 1 September 1929, no. 29;
Zürich, Kunsthaus Zürich, Tafelbilder des 15. und 16. Jahrhunderts: Schweiz, Deutschland, Niederlande, May–July 1934, no. 97;
Rotterdam, Museum Boymans, Jeroen Bosch, van Geertgen tot Scorel: Noord-Nederlandsche primitieven, 10 July – 15 October 1936, no. 97;
Amsterdam, Rijksmuseum, Middeleeuwse kunst der Noordelijke Nederlanden, 28 June – 28 September 1958, no. 101.

The sovereign crown above a 'V' and the inventory number '224' are painted onto the reverse of the panel. This was the insignia of Victoria, Princess Royal, Empress of Germany and Queen of Prussia (1840–1901), the eldest child of Queen Victoria of Great Britain, who married King Friedrich III of Prussia in 1858. The same painted signet is found on the reverse of the canvas of a painting by Giovanni Antonio Pellegrini, sold in these Rooms, 23 January 2014, lot 194, which came by descent from the collection of King Friedrich III, and his daughter Princess Viktoria von Preussen (1866–1929).1 It would appear likely that the old label on the reverse, written in English and attributing the painting to Jan Gossaert, called Mabuse, dates to this time.


1 https://www.sothebys.com/en/auctions/ecatalogue/2014/royal-noble-descent-l14314/lot.194.html


For more information on the Collection of Sir Peter Jonas, please see: Sir Peter Jones: A Lifelong Love of Old Masters