A rock ptarmigan (Lagopus muta)

Details

AFTER JACOPO LIGOZZI (1547-1627)
A rock ptarmigan (Lagopus muta)
inscribed ‘Lagopus/ Francolino bianco’ (upper right)
black chalk, watercolour, bodycolour
25.3 x 24 cm (10 x 9 1/2 in.)

Provenance

Cassiano dal Pozzo (1588-1657), Rome; by descent to his brother,
Carlo Antonio dal Pozzo (1606-1689); by descent to his grandson, from whom acquired by
Pope Clement XI (1649-1721), Rome; from whom acquired by his nephew in 1714,
Cardinal Alessandro Albani (1692-1779), Rome; from whom acquired in 1762 by
King George III (1738-1820); since 1823 in the Royal Library, at Windsor Castle, until sold from the Dal Pozzo collection by the Royal Librarian, Sir John Fortescue (1859-1933) to
Jacob Mendelson (died 1970), London; where acquired in the late 1930s by
James R. Herbert Boone (1899-1983), New York; Sotheby’s, New York, 16-17 September 1988, lot 157.

Literature

H. McBurney, ‘Cassiano dal Pozzo as scientific commentator. Ornithological texts, and images of birds from the Museo Cartaceo’ in Documentary culture, Florence and Rome, 1992, fig. 14.
H. McBurney and C. Violani, The Paper Museum of Cassiano dal Pozzo. A Catalogue Raisonné. Series B. Natural History. Parts Four and Five. Birds, Other Animals and Natural Curiosities, I, London, 2017, no. 174, ill.

Special notice

This lot has been imported from outside of the UK for sale and placed under the Temporary Admission regime. Import VAT is payable at 5% on the hammer price. VAT at 20% will be added to the buyer’s premium but will not be shown separately on our invoice.

Conditions of sale

Brought to you by

Annabel Kishor Specialist

akishor@christies.com +44 (0) 20 7389 2709

Lot Essay

See under lot 22. This drawing corresponds closely with a watercolour by Jacopo Ligozzi in the Gabinetto dei disegni e delle stampe at the Gallerie degli Uffizi, Florence (inv. 1991 O; see H. McBurney and C. Violani, op. cit., comp. fig. 74). The Italian name given to the bird in the inscription wrongly identifies it as a francolin, a different member of the pheasant family.

More from Old Master and British Drawings and Watercolours

View All