Lot 36: ABRAHAM MIGNON | A hanging garland of flowers and fruit, including roses, tulips and raspberries, along with a variety of insects

oil on oak panel

31.2 by 49 cm.; 12 1/4  by 19 3/8  in.

oil on oak panel

The following condition report is provided by Sarah Walden who is an external specialist and not an employee of Sotheby's: Abraham Mignon. A hanging Garland with flowers and insects. Signed at lower left, A. Mignon. Fe. This painting is on a firm flat oak panel with wide bevelling all round. The panel itself has remained perfectly unmoved, with no trace of instability or raised paint, past or present. The virtually untouched condition of this painting is extraordinarily rare. Having remained apparently undisturbed in the same collection over centuries, the most minute detail is still immaculately exact and unworn, (as for instance the minuscule spider's web in the centre at the top) and the glittering precision of the light on the blue silk ribbons holding the garland not to mention the crests of the nails it is hung upon or the brilliant minutiae of the flowers themselves, let alone the legs of the insects. This report was not done under laboratory conditions.
"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."

Believed to have been in the family of the current owner for the past five generations.