Aert Schouman (Dordrecht 1710-1792 The Hague)

An oncilla from Surinam (Leopardus tigrinus)

Details

Aert Schouman (Dordrecht 1710-1792 The Hague)
An oncilla from Surinam (Leopardus tigrinus)
inscribed (?) 'een tijgerkat, levens groot als een groote huys kat, int cabinet van Z.H.' and partially trimmed date '14.6.1769' (?) with inscription 'Surinaamsch Tijgerkatje /: als een groote huis kat in het Kabinet van Z.H.' (on the mount)
traces of red chalk, watercolour, brown ink framing lines, countermark GR (?)
15.3 x 20.2 cm.

Provenance

possibly Jean Bernard; De Vries et al., Amsterdam, 24 November 1834, Album J, part of lot 28 ('Twee Tijgerkatten, met dito [met sapverven], door dito [A. Schouman]').

Exhibited

Dordrecht, Dordrechts Museum, Herdenkingstentoonstelling: Aart Schouman 1710-1792, 1960, no. 91.
Haarlem, Teylers Museum, and Paris, Fondation Custodia, Le zoo du prince: la ménagerie du stadthouder Guillaume V, 1994-1995, hors catalogue.

Brought to you by

Harriet West

hwest@christies.com +442073892541

Lot Essay

According to Schouman's inscription on the verso he saw this oncilla, which was the same size as a domestic cat ('levens groot als een groote huys kat'), in the cabinet of 'Z.H.', which refers to 'Zijne Hoogheid' Stadtholder Willem V, the owner of the Royal Natural History and Art Cabinets and Zoological Collections (see lot 15 for another drawing that was made after a specimen from the Royal Collection). The second inscription suggests that the oncilla was brought to Holland from Surinam, which was a Dutch colony at the time. The wild cat can still be found in Surinam and in other countries in Central and South America.

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