William Larkin's Portrait of Thomas Pope, later 3rd Earl of Downe, sold in the room for a remarkable £449,000, ten times its estimate of £40,000-60,000, at Bonhams Old Master Paintings sale today, 5 July 2017.
Bonhams Director of Old Master Paintings, Andrew McKenzie said, "Having spent much of its life at Wroxton Abbey, William Larkin's magnificent Portrait of Thomas Pope is unusually well preserved. The paint layer, particularly on the exquisite lace, retains its textured surface some 400 years after it was painted. Such good condition is rare for something of this age. I am not surprised it attracted very keen bidding nor that it achieved such a wonderful result."
The Holy Family with the Infant Saint John the Baptist by Jacopo Zucchi made a world record price for the artist, achieving £317,000 against an estimate of £50,000-70,000.
Other highlights included:
- A recently discovered sketch by il Parmigianino, Three studies of a nude female figure, made £52,500 against an estimate of £15,000-20,000.
- Portrait of a lady holding a Maltese Terrier, Brescian School, 16th century, made almost seven times its high estimate of £5,000-7,000, selling for £41,250.
- Cornelis De Man's A lady sewing and a gentleman reading in an interior achieved £85,000, more than four times its high estimate.
- Dordrecht School, circa 1570, Portrait of members of the van der Linden family made £93,750 against an estimate of £10,000-15,000
