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Still Life with Ostrich Egg Cup and the Whitfield Heirlooms

A work made of oil on canvas.
CC0 Public Domain Designation

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  • A work made of oil on canvas.

Date:

c. 1670

Artist:

Pieter Gerritsz. van Roestraeten
Dutch, 1630-1700

About this artwork

Trained in the Dutch Republic before making his career in London, Pieter van Roestraeten specialized in compositions populated with luxury goods crafted from rare, imported materials like those seen here. On the right stands a lidded agate cup with detailed silver mounts, counterbalanced to the left of the grouping by another cup, which has been overturned to reveal its mother-of-pearl lining. A piece of valuable and versatile coral, sourced from the coasts of Italy and France, dangles over the front edge of the table. The central item in this still life, the ostrich egg cup, is in the collection of the Art Institute. Known as the Whitfield Cup, it was created in 1590 by the royal jeweler John Spilman.

Status

Currently Off View

Department

Painting and Sculpture of Europe

Artist

Pieter Gerritsz. van Roestraeten

Title

Still Life with Ostrich Egg Cup and the Whitfield Heirlooms

Place

Netherlands (Artist's nationality:)

Date  Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.

1660–1680

Medium

Oil on canvas

Dimensions

65.4 × 75.6 cm (25 3/4 × 29 3/4 in.)

Credit Line

European Decorative Arts Fund

Reference Number

2009.114

IIIF Manifest  The International Image Interoperability Framework (IIIF) represents a set of open standards that enables rich access to digital media from libraries, archives, museums, and other cultural institutions around the world.

Learn more.

https://api.artic.edu/api/v1/artworks/198905/manifest.json

Extended information about this artwork

Object information is a work in progress and may be updated as new research findings emerge. To help improve this record, please email . Information about image downloads and licensing is available here.

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