A Concert of Birds: An owl, pidgeon, canary, peacock and other birds on a tree branch; Bluebirds, a parrot, a macaw, a tucan and other birds on a tree branch

Another copper panel of birds, of similar dimensions and signed by the artist, was offered for sale at Christie's, Paris, 27 November 2002, lot 27. Another pair, also of similar size, on copper and representing birds in a landscape, were sold at Sotheby's, London, 18 April 2002, lot 56 as 'Attributed to Jan van Kessel the Elder' (£47,000 = $68,000).

Jan van Kessel was one of the most versatile and exotic painters active in 17th-century Antwerp. He was greatly influenced by the work of his uncle, Jan (Velvet) Brueghel the Elder, and his teacher Simon de Vos. He is best known for his series of small copper panels devoted to specific themes - birds, animals or insects, almost always with a plain background. These range from delightful concerts of birds such as the present paintings to works such as the Serpent's Enemies in the Musée Baron Martin at Gray. Jan van Kessel's pictures became very popular and widely collected, and there is a comprehensive collection of small copper panels by him in the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford (Ward Bequest).