The original, signed and dated 1777, on canvas, 81 x 64.5 cm, is in a private collection, Tilburg. The whereabouts of the original at the time the present lot was executed is unknown. The original re-appeared for the first time since its exhibition at the Salon of the Louvre in 1777 in the sale of the collection of Mr F.J.E. Horstmann, Oud-Clingendaal Castle, Wassenaar at Frederik Muller, Amsterdam on 19 November 1929. The picture was offered together with a still life with fruits and flowers on a marble ledge, which was then considered to be its pendant. This observation is no longer supported, as the both the size and date of the second picture differ (see M. van Boven and S. Segal, Gerard & Cornelis van Spaendonck, exhibition catalogue, 1980, pp. 99/100, nos. 2 and 3).

As pointed out by Sam Segal (op.cit., p. 99), the flowers in the bouquet of the present lot are predominantely those of spring. The bird's nest with eggs further supports the spring-theme. The Imperial Crown Lily crowning the bouquet is a theme that is reminiscent of the early 17th century flower still lives by among others Roelant Savery.

The artist L. Fontaine seems to be unrecorded

See colour illustration