White rose, cabbage rose, Austrian briar, small morning glory, auriculas, opium poppy, carnation, pale iris hybrid and forget-me-not in an obliquely placed wicker basket on a split pomegranate on a broken stone ledge with a nest with six eggs

The present composition shows similarities to a signed and dated oval painting of 1791 by Cornelis van Spaendonck in the Musée Pescatore in Luxembourg (see M. van Boven and S. Segal, Gerard & Cornelis van Boven - Twee Brabantse bloemenschilders in Parijs, Maarssen, 1980, p. 111, no. 16). There are also similarities with a miniature in the Fitzwilliam Museum (op. cit., p. 144, no. 66a) in which the bird's nest is replaced by a bunch of grapes. That composition can also be found in two porcelain objects produced in the Sèvres manufactory for which Cornelis has been working (op. cit., pp. 192-3, nos. 143 and 143b). The former is a porcelain plate from the Marli d'Or service, made by Drouet 1810 (on view at the Musée National de Céramique, Sèvres, museum catalogue 1975, p. 13, no. 37). The latter is a 1795 dated circular mounted in furniture. It was constructed by A.-L. Bellangè and sold to George IV soon after in 1828 (Windsor Castle, the Royal Collection).

We are grateful to Dr. Sam Segal for his help in cataloguing this lot.