Wild Strawberries and a Carnation in a Wan-Li Bowl
Jacob van Hulsdonck·c. 1620
Historical Context
Jacob van Hulsdonck's Wild Strawberries and a Carnation in a Wan-Li Bowl from around 1620 combines exotic Chinese porcelain with European fruit in a composition that reflects Antwerp's position as a global trading center. Wan-Li porcelain, imported through the Dutch East India Company, was among the most prized luxury goods in early 17th-century Europe. Hulsdonck's still lifes document the material culture of the Antwerp merchant class with meticulous naturalistic precision.
Technical Analysis
Hulsdonck's oil-on-copper technique produces a luminous, enamel-like surface that enhances the precise rendering of the porcelain's blue-and-white decoration and the delicate strawberries. The small format and precious copper support create a jewel-like quality suited to the cabinet collector's market.
Provenance
(Leonard Koetser, London), in 1963.[1] private collection, "the property of a lady"; (sale, Christie, Manson & Woods, London, 25 November 1966, no. 44); (Leonard Koetser, London), until at least 1967. (Newhouse Galleries, New York); purchased 1974 by Robert H. Smith [1928-2009], Bethesda, Maryland; sold 1978 to (Essoldo Fine Arts Ltd., London).[2] (Galerie Julie Kraus, Paris). private collection, Germany, in 1983. (Charles Roelofsz, Amsterdam), in 1994.[3] (Bob P. Haboldt & Co., New York), in 1995. private collection; (sale, Sotheby's, London, 14 December 2000, no. 15); private collection, Germany; (sale, Sotheby's, London, 8 July 2009, no. 12); private collection, "property from a deceased's estate"; (sale, Sotheby's, London, 5 December 2012, no. 32); purchased by NGA with donated funds. [1] Koetser exhibited the painting in his 1963 autumn exhibition; see T.H. Crombie, "Autumn Offerings: Mr. Leonard Koetser," _Apollo_ 78, no. 20 (October 1963): 305, fig. 6. [2] In the published record of the painting, Mr. Smith's name is placed at various points in the ownership sequence: between the 1983 German private collection and Haboldt & Co. in the three Sotheby's sale catalogues, but before the 1966 Christie's sale in the catalogue of a 1995 exhibition at Haboldt & Co. in New York. The actual dates have been confirmed by Smith collection records that document the purchase from Newhouse Galleries and the sale to Essoldo Fine Arts (copies in NGA curatorial files). It is not yet certain whether Mr. Smith's ownership came before or after the ownership by Galerie Julie Kraus. [3] Roelofsz exhibited the painting at TEFAF (The European Fine Art Fair) in Maastricht, The Netherlands, in 1994.
