A painting that spent years in an old English family collection has emerged as one of the surprises of an October auction, selling for £70,000 after specialists attributed it to Dutch artist Hendrik Gerritsz Pot.
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specialists → spend → Pot
The small oil painting, which depicts a woman in period clothing seated beside a lute with a dog at her side, had entered the sale with an estimate of £8,000.
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which → depict → 8,000
According to auction house Lawrences, competitive bidding pushed its final price to nearly nine times that figure, including the buyer’s premium.
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bidding → accord → premium
The painting came from the collection of the Bailward family, formerly associated with Horsington Manor near Wincanton in Somerset, England.
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painting → come → Somerset
Its significance extends beyond the unexpected auction result: specialists believe it could be the missing companion to a series of works known as Pot’s Merry Company paintings, raising the possibility of a connection to a recognised theme in 17th-century Dutch art.
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it → extend → art
A woman, a lute and a possible artistic connection
The painting is an oil on an oak panel, a format used by Dutch artists during the period.
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painting → use → period
Its central figure is a woman dressed in Dutch period costume, wearing a lace ruff and seated at a table.
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figure → dress → table
A lute lies nearby, while a dog sits at her side.
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dog → lie → side
Lawrences described the work as a small but captivating painting when announcing the results of its Autumn Fine Art Sale on October 19.
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Lawrences → describe → October
The auction house said the work was attributed to Hendrik Gerritsz Pot, who lived from around 1580 to 1657.
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who → say → 1657
The proposed connection to Pot’s Merry Company paintings is particularly intriguing.
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connection → propose → paintings
These works typically depict groups of people socialising in interiors, often with music, food and drink forming part of the scene.
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music → depict → scene
However, the auction house described the painting as a possible missing companion, rather than confirming that relationship.
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house → describe → relationship
The distinction matters because an attribution identifies an artist believed to have created a work, but it does not necessarily establish authorship beyond doubt.
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it → matter → doubt
Further examination of the painting’s composition, technique, provenance and relationship to other works would be needed to establish the nature of the connection.
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examination → need → connection
What Pot’s paintings reveal about Dutch society
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reveal → reveal → society
Pot worked during the Dutch Golden Age, a period of considerable artistic activity in the Netherlands.
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Pot → work → Netherlands
Painters produced portraits, landscapes, still lifes and scenes of everyday life, while genre paintings frequently used familiar social situations to explore questions of behaviour and morality.
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paintings → produce → behaviour
The National Gallery in London holds Pot’s A Merry Company at Table, dated 1630.
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Gallery → hold → Table
The museum describes the work as a scene in which elegantly dressed figures gather in what appears to be a brothel.
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what → describe → which
Drinking, smoking and other details contribute to a composition that combines entertainment with a moral warning about excess and immorality.
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that → contribute → excess
The painting also demonstrates how artists used seemingly ordinary social gatherings to communicate broader ideas.
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artists → demonstrate → ideas
The figures, their expressions and the objects around them all contribute to the meaning of the scene.
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figures → contribute → scene
Another work, Merry Company, attributed to Pot and dated around 1630-1635, is held by Berlin’s Gemäldegalerie, according to its entry on Google Arts & Culture.
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work → attribute → Arts
It similarly depicts well-dressed men and women gathered in an interior, with details intended to caution viewers against excessive drinking and other perceived vices.
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It → depict → drinking
These museum-held paintings provide context for understanding the newly auctioned panel.
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paintings → hold → panel
However, they do not independently establish that the Bailward family painting belongs to the same series.
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painting → establish → series
Why the auction price stood out
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price → stand → ?
The £70,000 result was the leading sale reported by Lawrences from its two-day Autumn Fine Art Sale in October.
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result → lead → October
Against the painting’s £8,000 estimate, the final price represented an increase of £62,000, or 775% above the estimate.
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price → represent → estimate
It sold for 8.75 times its estimated value.
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It → sell → value
The auction house attributed the result to determined bidding and the appeal of the painting’s rarity and history.
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house → attribute → rarity
All prices quoted in its report include the buyer’s premium, so £70,000 should not be confused with the hammer price alone.
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70,000 → quote → price
The painting was not the only object to attract strong interest.
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painting → attract → interest
A late 19th-century Bidjar or Bakshaish carpet, estimated at £5,000, sold for £15,000, while a 17th-century South German cabinet with elaborate marquetry decoration fetched £9,375 against an estimate of £3,000.
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cabinet → estimate → 3,000
A small antique rocking horse by G & J Lines, which came from a local house clearance, also exceeded expectations, selling for £10,000.
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which → come → 10,000
Meanwhile, a British and Commonwealth stamp collection estimated at £5,000 realised £11,875.
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collection → estimate → 11,875
The results illustrated how objects with unusual histories, specialist appeal or distinctive characteristics can attract competitive bidding.
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objects → illustrate → bidding
In the case of the Dutch painting, its proposed artistic connection and its origins in a historic family collection may have helped distinguish it from other works in the sale.
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connection → propose → sale
A family collection with a new chapter
For the Bailward family painting, the auction has brought renewed attention to an object that might otherwise have remained largely unknown outside its collection.
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that → bring → collection
…and 5 more, not listed.
The Aporia
