Lot 111: Portrait of a lady, bust-length, in a black fur-lined coat with gold fittings, a gold necklace and a white cap

Attributed to Frans Pourbus I (Bruges 1545/6-1581 Antwerp) Portrait of a lady, bust-length, in a black fur-lined coat with gold fittings, a gold necklace and a white cap oil on panel 16 x 13 1/8 in. (41 x 33.4 cm.), including later additions of circa ¼ in. on all sides

41 x 33.4 cm.

circa

Major Sir Dennis Frederic Bankes Stucley, 5th Bt. (1907-1983), Hartland Abbey, Hartland, Bideford, North Devon; Christie's, London, 11 May 1951, lot 16, as 'A.Key'.

We are grateful to Prof. Koenrad Jonckheere for confirming the attribution to Frans Pourbus the Elder, on the basis of photographs, and for placing it early within the painter's oeuvre. Pourbus is known to have trained with his father Pieter and later in the studio of Frans Floris. The rather unusual white band around the sitter’s collar, which seems to be attached to her headdress, can also be found on an engraving by Johannes Wierix of Volcxken Diericx, dated 1579 (Amsterdam, Rijksmuseum).