Third type of banquet by Frans Francken

Azur, from Cannes, France, sells on 21 October 2016 a "Circle of Frans Francken (17th century)" "Banquet scene", a large (111 by 160 cm) canvas, without an estimate.

It is one of the more distinct variations made by the Francken school of their banquet scenes. In a previous post, I indicated how they used the same composition for both a "Wedding at Cana" and a "Parable of the Wedding Banquet".

This one, with a somewhat different but clearly related composition, is another story, the "Banquet of Esther", also known in a lot of copies. The RKD lists versions in Olomouc (Frans Francken II), and at a Dorotheum sale in 2011 (after Francken II), but both are considerably smaller.

Another version is kept in the Musée Bertrand in Châteauroux.

The  work for sale is of somewhat lesser quality than the others shown here, and somewhat changed in the details (the other three are remarkably close to one another), and is probably a slightly later work (Francken III or an anonymous copier). Considering its size, it should be worth about 3,000 Euro.

UPDATE: the auction house has since revised the description and added an estimate: it now is a "Follower of Frans Francken" "Feast of Esther" estimated at 2,000 to 3,000 Euro.  Can't argue with that!