Jan I Van Kessel

Jan van Kessel I (Antwerp 1626-1679) Peaches, plums, grapes and a lemon, with a crab, a lobster and a roemer, on a partly-draped table signed and dated 'J V Kessel 1653' (lower left) oil on panel 13 x 20 in. (33 x 50.8 cm.) Anonymous sale; Mak van Waay, Amsterdam, 18 March 1919, lot 266. Anonymous sale; Christie's, London, 21 June 1968, lot 115. Jan van Kessel produced mainly small-scale oil paintings either on copper or panel, many of which can be traced back to a single prototype by an eminent predecessor. The present lot is just such an example, being based on Jan Davidsz. de Heem's signed and dated Still-life with a roemer of 1652, in the Statens Museum for Kunst, Copenhagen. A second version of the present painting by van Kessel, signed and dated 1653, is in the Musée des Beaux-Arts, Bordeaux. We are grateful to Fred Meijer, of the RKD, The Hague, for confirming the attribution, on the basis of photographs.

LOT 202 PROPERTY FROM A PRIVATE COLLECTION, SPAIN JAN VAN KESSEL ANTWERP 1626 - 1679 STILL LIFE WITH FLOWERS IN A GLASS VASE, TOGETHER WITH A RED ADMIRAL BUTTERFLY, A BEE AND OTHER INSECTS, AND A POCKET WATCH, A PEACH AND A BEETLE ON THE LEDGE BENEATH signed and dated upper right: J.v. kessel. fecit/ A o 1652. oil on oak panel 39.3 by 30.2 cm.; 15 1/2 by 12 in.

Jan van Kessel I (Antwerp 1626-1679) Two Egyptian geese, a red-brested merganser and other birds on a shore, a town and vessels beyond signed 'V. KESSEL F' (lower left) oil on copper 7 1/8 x 9½ in. (18.2 x 24.2 cm.) with F.A. Drey, London. Anonymous sale [The Property of a Family]; Sotheby's, London, 12 July 2001, lot 100 (£32,700) to the present owner. THE PROPERTY OF A PRIVATE EUROPEAN COLLECTOR (LOTS 103, 104, 117, 125 & 131)

Lot Description Jan van Kessel I (Antwerp 1626-1679) A scene from Aesop's Fables: The Porcupine and the Snakes signed and dated 'Joannes. van. kessel. fecit. anno 1660-' (lower right) oil on copper 8 x 11¾ in. (20.3 x 29.9 cm.) Provenance Miss E.M. Edye. Captain E.G. Spencer-Churchill, M.C., Northwick Park; Christie's, London, 25 February 1966, lot 75 (£2,100 to the following). with Richard Green, London, from whom acquired by the late owner in 1966. Pre-Lot Text PROPERTY FROM AN IBERIAN PRIVATE COLLECTION (Lots 14-15) Literature Captain E.G. Spencer-Churchill, The Northwick Rescues, 1912-1961, Evesham, 1961, no. 27. View Lot Notes › Jan van Kessel's fascination with bizarre and exotic subject matter is well exemplified by the present work, which is a highly innovative interpretation of one of Aesop's fables. The Porcupine and the Sna kes offers a coded warning against careless hospitality. According to the fable, a porcupine sought shelter in a cave that housed a nest of snakes. The snakes felt prevailed upon and allowed him in. However, the porcupine's spines caused such discomfort and annoyance that the snakes soon came to rue their decision and asked the porcupine to leave. The porcupine refused saying: 'Let them quit the place that don't like it; for my part, I am well enough satisfied as I am'. In other words, hospitality is a virtue but should be wisely exercised. Without due care and attention it is enemies rather than friends who can be entertained.

Jan van Kessel I (Antwerp 1626-1679) An allegory of water: a squid, a seal, a turtle, eels, oysters and other fish and shellfish in the dunes of Scheveningen, shipping beyond signed 'I·V·KESSEL.FECIT' (lower left) oil on copper 20.1 x 30.1 cm. Anonymous sale; Palais des Beaux-Arts, Brussels, 29 February 1956, lot 394. with Bernheimer, Munich and London (according to a label on the reverse). THE PROPERTY OF AN EUROPEAN NOBLE FAMILY (LOT 57)