Lot 24: Clara Peeters (Antwerp c. 1589-c. 1657)

A glass of red wine, a sprig of rosemary and sweetmeats on a pewter platter, with a ring, a roemer of white wine and a candle on a ledge signed and dated 'CLARA.P 16 07' (lower left) oil on panel 113/4 x 14 5/8 in. (29.8 x 37.2 cm.) PROVENANCE with Galerie Hoogsteder, The Hague, by whom sold in circa 1985 to the present owner. LITERATURE S. Segal, catalogue of the exhibition, A Prosperous Past. The Sumptuous Still Life in the Netherlands 1600-1700, The Hague, 1988, pp. 67-8 and 229, no. 7, illustrated p. 82. P. Hibbs Decoteau, Clara Peeters 1594-ca. 1640 and the Development of Still Life Painting in Northern Europe, Freren, 1992, pp. 8, 14-15, 104 and 178, fig. 2. M. Milman, 'The Mysterious "Neljikan" Revisited. Some Thoughts about the Symbolism of the Carnation', Konsthistorisk Tidskrift, 65 (1996), no. 2, pp. 128-9, fig. 13. NOTES This is the earliest known work by the artist, about whose career or development very little is known. It is therefore of particular interest, reflecting as it does the stylistic influence of still-life painting in Antwerp at the turn of the century, and in particular Osaias Beert - compare, for example, Beert's use of candlelight in his Dishes with oysters, fruit and sweets by candlelight formerly with the Hallsborough Gallery, London, 1964, reproduced in the catalogue of the exhibition, Still-Life Paintings from the Netherlands 1550-1720, Amsterdam and Cleveland, Ohio, 1999-2000, p. 126, fig. 8b. Characteristic of Peeters' early works are the high viewpoint, the limited number of objects and the signature on the small edge of the table, as well as the diminutive likeness of herself reflected in the candlestick. The subject matter of this picture is very rare. Symbolic references were widely used in still lifes of the time, and it has been suggested that the present work is in some way a vanitas work. However, its real significance is to be understood through the golden ear drops hanging from the rosemary twig. These ear drops in the form of a stylised strawberry were used at marriages during the wedding feast, and were often presents for the bride - the strawberry, due to the many seeds on each single fruit, was a traditional symbol of fertility and thus too for marriage. Given this explanation, the other objects in the still life can also be seen to relate to marriage. The rosemary twig was a symbol of fidelity, and the ring is a traditional wedding ring. Confectionary of the type shown here was served at wedding celebrations, and one of the biscuits is appropriately in the shape of a heart. Lastly, the sleek Venetian glass sided by the more robust roemer could be understood to refer to the two sexes. Such an interpretation is supported not only by other artists' work of the period, but also by another of Peeters', in which a rosemary twig ornamented with similar golden strawberries is depicted upright on a wedding cake.