With Newhouse Galleries, New York;
From whom acquired by the present owner in 1981.

The following condition report has been provided by Simon Parkes of Simon Parkes Art Conservation, Inc. 502 East 74th St. New York, NY 212-734-3920, simonparkes@msn.com, an independent restorer who is not an employee of Sotheby's. This work seems to be in lovely condition. It will probably respond well to cleaning. It does not seem that any significant retouches will be removed during cleaning; none are visible to the naked eye. The canvas has a glue lining that is still stabilizing the paint layer, although the cracking is slightly raised. There does not appear to be any abrasion or weakness, even in the delicate dark colors and white colors of the female hen.
"This lot is offered for sale subject to Sotheby's Conditions of Business, which are available on request and printed in Sotheby's sale catalogues. The independent reports contained in this document are provided for prospective bidders' information only and without warranty by Sotheby's or the Seller."

Melchior d’Hondecoeter is best known today for his paintings of birds, both exotic and domestic.  He was born in Utrecht where his first teacher was his father Gijsbert, and later trained with his uncle Jean Baptiste Weenix.  He worked in The Hague from 1659-63 and then settled in Amsterdam where is remained the rest of his life.

Here a large white hen, possibly a "Sultan," originally from Turkey, dominates the foreground with a rooster at right.  A Hoopoe, a species found across Afro-Eurasia, is seen perched on a stone plinth while a peacock struts in the background.  The motif of the white hen with a chick tucked protectively under her wing was a favorite of Hondecoeter’s and he reused it in a variety of different compositions, such as in an upright canvas in the Musée Fabre, Montpellier, which also incorporates the same black feathered chick in the foreground.¹

 

1.  Inv no. 837-1-39, signed, oil on canvas, 71.5 by 59.5 𒉰cm.