Lot 165: Circle of Dirck van der Lisse (Breda ?-1669 The Hague)

Diana and Actaeon
oil on panel
9 5/8 x 18 1/2 in. (24.5 x 47 cm.)
in an ornate Dutch carved giltwood frame, circa 1670

Anonymous sale; Christie's, London, 10 February 1967, lot 3 as Poelenburg (380 gns. to the family of the present owner).

The subject of the picture is taken from Ovid's Metamorphosis (3:138-253) and tells the story of prince Actaeon who while hunting stumbled across Diana, the virgin huntress, and her nymphs bathing in a wooded grotto. In revenge for this, Diana turned Actaeon into a stag, whereupon he was hunted down and killed by his own hounds. The finely sculpted frame refects this celebrated story and comprises a festive flower garland that wreaths a deer's head. A water element trophy comprising of shells or fruits-of-the-sea is incorporated at the base. This virtuoso piece of carving reflects the style associated with the Amsterdam workshops of the Rome-trained Quellinus family of sculptors and their celebrated pupil Grinling Gibbons (d. 1721), 'Master carver in Wood' to Charles II. A related limewood frame, incorporating a portrait by Gerard Dou, was listed in the 1677 inventory of Ham House, Surrey (P. Thornton, 'The Furnishing and Decoration of Ham House', Furniture History, 1989, p. 148, fig. 129).

No VAT will be charged on the hammer price, but VAT at 17.5% will be added to the buyer's premium, which is invoiced on a VAT inclusive basis.