A brown ink drawing of a feathered cone shell centered.
Photo © President and Fellows of Harvard College
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Photo © President and Fellows of Harvard College

The shell is drawn in accurate detail in the center of the paper, it lies diagonally with its tip pointing to the upper right. The conical shell is depicted with a highlight and shadow below. It’s drawn from the back; the opening is not visible. The pattern is abstract with brown and white feathered patches and lines. White highlights near the bottom give the look of a shiny smooth surface. The word "Net" is written in decorative cursive on the left and "Hooren" written to the right of the shell, and artist initials in the lower right.

Identification and Creation

Object Number
1.2018.2
People
Balthasar van der Ast, Dutch (Middelburg, Netherlands 1593 - 1657 Delft, Netherlands)
Previously attributed to Bartholomeus Abrahamsz. Assteyn, Dutch (Dordrecht, Netherlands 1607 - after 1667 Dordrecht, Netherlands)
Title
Feathered Cone Shell
Other Titles
Alternate Title: A Shell: Net Hooren
Classification
Drawings
Work Type
drawing
Date
c. 1620-40
Culture
Dutch
Persistent Link
https://hvrd.art/o/183480

Physical Descriptions

Medium
Brown ink, transparent and opaque watercolor, and white opaque watercolor on off-white antique laid paper, mounted; framing line in brown ink
Dimensions
12 x 19.7 cm (4 3/4 x 7 3/4 in.)
Inscriptions and Marks
  • inscription: recto, center left and right, brown ink: Net. Hooren
  • inscription: recto of mount, lower right, graphite: B v d Ast. 806
  • inscription: monogrammed, recto, lower right, brown ink: BA
  • inscription: verso of mount, lower right, blue ink: M G A [in monogram] (Lugt 3306, mark of The Maida and George Abrams Collection)
  • inscription: verso of mount, lower right, graphite: n 13

Provenance

Recorded Ownership History
[Christie's, Amsterdam, November 25, 1992, lot 626 (together with two other drawings of shells as Bartolomeus Assteyn)], sold; to Maida and George Abrams Collection, Boston

Acquisition and Rights

Credit Line
The Maida and George Abrams Collection, Fogg Art Museum, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts, Promised Gift
Accession Year
2018
Object Number
1.2018.2
Division
European and American Art
Contact
am_europeanamerican@harvard.edu
Permissions

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Publication History

  • William W. Robinson, Bruegel to Rembrandt: Dutch and Flemish Drawings from the Maida and George Abrams Collection, exh. cat., Harvard University Art Museums (Cambridge, MA, 2002), cat. no. 102b, repr.
  • Harvard Art Museums: In Your Hands, Harvard Art Museums and GILES (Cambridge, 2025)

Exhibition History

  • Bruegel to Rembrandt: Dutch and Flemish Drawings from the Maida and George Abrams Collection, British Museum, London, 06/13/2002 - 09/22/2002; Institut Néerlandais, Paris, 10/10/2002 - 12/08/2002; Harvard University Art Museums, Cambridge, 03/22/2003 - 07/06/2003
  • Mirror of Holland: Drawings from the Maida and George Abrams Collection, Part 1, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Boston, 11/20/2010 - 03/06/2011

Subjects and Contexts

  • Dutch, Flemish, & Netherlandish Drawings

Verification Level

This record has been reviewed by the curatorial staff but may be incomplete. Our records are frequently revised and enhanced. For more information please contact the Division of European and American Art at am_europeanamerican@harvard.edu