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Lot Essay
The present lot can be dated circa 1665/70, on grounds of the costume, compare, for instance, Ter Borch's Portrait of a Gentleman in the collection of the Marquess of Bath, Warminster (H.R. Hoetink et al, Gerard Ter Borch - Zwolle 1617 Deventer 1681, exhibition catalogue 9 March-28 April 1974, pp.164/5, no.48a, ill.).
Although the realistically rendered flowers and foliage are prominent features in the decoration of the frame, the style as a whole reminds one of the auricular frames which came into fashion in the third quarter of the seventeenth Century. The auricular style frame was inspired by the art of silversmiths such as Adam van Vianen and Jan Lutma. The latter published his Veelderhande nieuwe compartemente ('All sorts of new cartouches') in Amsterdam in 1653, followed by Verscheide snakeryen dienstich voor goudsmits, beelthouwers, steenhouwers, en alle die de const beminnen ('Several drolleries helpful to goldsmiths, sculptors, stonemasons and all who love art') in 1654 (P.J.J. van Thiel in Framing in the Golden Age, 1995, pp.214/5). The present frame is close in style to the frames of circa 1672, attributed to Derck Daniels (1632-1710), on the portraits of Willem and Geertruid Marienburg by Ter Borch in the National Gallery of Prague (P.J.J. van Thiel, op. cit., pp.254/5, no.70, ill.).
Although the frame is of the same approximate date as the painting, it is not certain that it is the original. If it is, the hammer, chisel, knife and gouge that appear upper centre, may refer to the sitter's profession as a sculptor.
Although the realistically rendered flowers and foliage are prominent features in the decoration of the frame, the style as a whole reminds one of the auricular frames which came into fashion in the third quarter of the seventeenth Century. The auricular style frame was inspired by the art of silversmiths such as Adam van Vianen and Jan Lutma. The latter published his Veelderhande nieuwe compartemente ('All sorts of new cartouches') in Amsterdam in 1653, followed by Verscheide snakeryen dienstich voor goudsmits, beelthouwers, steenhouwers, en alle die de const beminnen ('Several drolleries helpful to goldsmiths, sculptors, stonemasons and all who love art') in 1654 (P.J.J. van Thiel in Framing in the Golden Age, 1995, pp.214/5). The present frame is close in style to the frames of circa 1672, attributed to Derck Daniels (1632-1710), on the portraits of Willem and Geertruid Marienburg by Ter Borch in the National Gallery of Prague (P.J.J. van Thiel, op. cit., pp.254/5, no.70, ill.).
Although the frame is of the same approximate date as the painting, it is not certain that it is the original. If it is, the hammer, chisel, knife and gouge that appear upper centre, may refer to the sitter's profession as a sculptor.