BOSSCHAERT, Ambrosius the Elder
(b. 1573, Antwerpen, d. 1621, Den Haag)

Still-Life with Flowers in a Wan-Li Vase

1601-05
Oil on oak panel, 44 x 32 cm
Private collection

This still-life depicts roses, marigolds, aquilegia, violets, convolvulus, hollyhocks, peonies, cornflowers, forget-me-nots, Jacobs's ladders, lily of the valley and carnations in a Wan-Li kraak porcelain vase with a butterfly and a snail on a ledge. The blooms emerge from what looks like a Wan-Li (i.e. then contemporary) Chinese vase with gilt mounts added in The Netherlands.

The painting was executed shortly after 1600, probably in Middelburg. It recalls the works of Ludger tom Ring, and it was also influenced by artists working on vellum, and also, especially in its composition, by engraved flower pieces by Adriaen Collaert and others.