Purchased at Christie's London, 13 May 1988, Lot 24 for £5,200 hammer via Johnny van Haeften Ltd acting as agent

Chamfered oak panel with minor old chips and knocks and worm damage at reverse. Framed with pins cross-grain. Slight convex curvature to panel. 1 inch split to centre bottom edge, with very slight crack to surface under the beetle's antenae. One futher possible split evidenced by a crack centre top edge above the right petal of the tulip. Scattered minor restored losses. Brittle age craquelure throughout. Flat and Stable. Abrasion throughout, some of the paint layers fairly thin. Suppressed by at least one campaign of retouching. Crizzled passages - it is not possible to see if this is just in the varnish or if it caused by overpaint. Ingrained dirt and varnish. Fairly even upper varnish, slightly yellowed. Light surface dirt. Minor scuffs at edges. Some of the paint fluroesces cobalt blue.

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