A swag of fruit hanging in a niche, with butterflies, beetles and a snail

Only a handful of signed works exist by this artist, who until recently has been recognised as the daughter of the painter Jan Ykens (brother of the better known Frans). However, an entry in a 1661 Antwerp inventory listing a flower garland 'by the wife of Ijkens' has prompted Fred Meijer to identify her as Caterina Floquet - the wife of Frans Ykens. She came from a large and well-known family of painters, being the daughter of Lucas Floquet and sister to three brothers who were artists, but until 2003 she had never been recognised as an artist in her own right. The small number of signed works by her are indeed very close in style to Frans Ykens; these include a Flower Garland surrounding a Landscape in the Prado, Madrid; a Flower Vase in the Musées Royaux des Beaux-Arts, Brussels; and a Garland surrounding a Portrait of a Gentleman, sold in these Rooms, 1 November 1996, lot 8.