Tuesday 23 January 2018

"Attributed to Clara Peeters" may be work by Nicolaes Cave (with provenance added)

Kloss, from Germany, sells on 30 January 2018 an "attributed to Clara Peeters" still life with a cat, estimated at 7,500 to 15,000 Euro.

The work isn't good enough to be by Peeters. Searching for it reveals an entry at the RKD, which indicates that it was offered as Clara Peeters at an auction at the Palais d'Orsay in 1978, but as a Follower of Clara Peeters at Sotheby's Amsterdam in 1997 (where it wasn't sold).

The RKD thinks it might be the work of Nicolaes Cave (a minor Antwerp painter active from 1619 on, died in 1651). It also indicates that it originally came with a pendant. (Wouldn't it be funny if you had a whole series of these, with the cat getting fatter and fatter in every image? Ah, missed opportunities...)

The estimate seems clearly too high and is speculative on the Clara Peeters name. 2,000 to 3,000 Euro seems more realistic.

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