The first sneak preview for Hampel’s September auction does not yet suggest a sale dominated by one indisputable star lot. Several of the paintings have also appeared on the market relatively recently. Yet among these familiar works are several that richly reward closer investigation: a fine Jan van Kessel, an entire world of proverbs after Bruegel, a Willem Kalf composition after the Berlin original, and a small portrait that closely follows a drawing once associated with Sofonisba Anguissola.

Two large black birds stand around a fire while salamanders crawl beneath their feet; one of them is being held over the flames. It is a strange image. And precisely for that reason, it may be one of the paintings in this first September selection that holds our attention the longest.

The Van Kessel copper also comes with a substantial history. Its provenance can be traced back to the collection of Paul Delaroff in St Petersburg in 1914, followed by sales at Sotheby’s London in 1976 and 1981 and an appearance on the Belgian market in the 1990s. In their catalogue raisonné, Klaus Ertz and Christa Nitze-Ertz record three versions of this curious composition. One related version formed part of a larger series of animal subjects offered at Christie’s London in 1996 as circle of Jan van Kessel I.[1]

The salamander was traditionally closely associated with fire. According to various traditions, it was believed capable of surviving the flames and could symbolise passion or envy. Ertz cautiously interpreted the scene within an allegorical context of good and evil.[1] That makes this one of the stronger works in the preview. It is a small painting that raises a surprising number of questions.

On 27 March 2026, Koller sold Jan van Kessel the Elder’s The Fable of the Fox Invited to Dinner by the Heron, a signed copper measuring just 19.1 × 25.2 centimetres, for CHF 75,000 including buyer’s premium, approximately €77,000 ($89,000), against an estimate of only CHF 10,000–15,000. A similarly curious little work, and perhaps an indication of how the market might respond to the salamander painting.[2]

Bruegel’s Proverbs: when copying becomes complicated

One of the more appealing surprises is perhaps the large village scene after The Dutch Proverbs. From the full image it is clear that this is not simply a free Bruegelian fantasy. The painter has adopted a substantial part of the famous composition: houses, waterways, a tower, an inn and dozens of figures engaged in activities that, at first glance, appear absurd.

The prototype is Pieter Bruegel the Elder’s The Dutch Proverbs of 1559 in the Gemäldegalerie in Berlin. The composition brings together more than a hundred proverbs and sayings within a single imaginary village and is ultimately less a collection of visual jokes than a catalogue of human folly.[3] Pieter Brueghel the Younger repeated the composition several times. Klaus Ertz recorded nine versions, none of which is completely identical to the Berlin prototype.[4]

Pickenoy, but for now within his circle

The portrait of a woman from 1631 occupies a similar territory. Measuring approximately 122 by 90 centimetres, the sitter appears almost entirely in black. Against the empty, dark background, attention is concentrated on her face, the broad white ruff, her cap, cuffs and hands. She holds gloves in one hand and wears several rings.

The portrait type fits convincingly within the Amsterdam world of Nicolaes Eliasz. Pickenoy, one of the city’s leading portraitists before and alongside the rise of Rembrandt. Pickenoy painted Amsterdam’s administrative and commercial elite, often on a monumental scale and with the same tension between severe black costume and the meticulous rendering of white collars, lace and accessories.[5]

Willem Kalf via the Gemäldegalerie

The dark still life with a porcelain box, glasses, citrus fruit and silverware raises a different kind of question. Here, the prototype can be identified precisely. The painting is a copy after Willem Kalf’s Still Life with a Chinese Porcelain Box of 1662, now in the Gemäldegalerie in Berlin. The original measures approximately 67 by 54.7 centimetres and has been in the Berlin collection since 1899.[6]

The composition has been followed almost literally. Tall glasses stand to the left and right, with the pale blue Chinese porcelain box at the centre; in front lie an orange and a cut lemon whose peel curls downwards. A small knife with a gleaming handle and the dark textile complete the foreground.

Kalf’s strength lies not in the sheer quantity of precious objects. He constructs his still lifes from a limited number of carefully chosen objects and uses just a few sharp highlights to give glass, metal, porcelain, fruit and fabric each their own distinct surface. His concern was the painterly effect of light on those materials.[6]

A boy, a painting and a drawing

More subtle still is the small portrait of a boy. The painted figure was clearly produced after a specific drawing. Head and shoulders turn at the same angle. The contour of the skull, the placement of the eyes, nose and mouth, and even the small raised collar are followed almost literally. The painter adds colour and material presence, including a grey-green background and dark clothing. The composition has been linked to a small drawn portrait associated with Sofonisba Anguissola, formerly in the collection of the Earl of Plymouth at Oakly Park. Attribution questions surrounding Anguissola have once again become the subject of considerable scholarly discussion in recent years.[7][8]

A solid middle ground

Beyond these works lies a broader group in which major names matter less. A number of these paintings have, however, appeared on the market very recently. They therefore belong more to the category of repositioned works than to that of newly discovered Old Masters. For collectors, a well-dated, signed or iconographically unusual work in the middle market can in fact be more attractive than a painting accompanied by a famous name and three qualifying terms.

The first images also point towards harbour scenes, mountainous landscapes and Italianate compositions that provide the breadth expected of a traditional Old Masters sale. The same is true of a sixteenth-century Last Supper with Antwerp characteristics and several religious compositions whose precise authorship is, for now, better left open.

A relatively large number of the paintings have either been offered publicly in the recent past, derive a significant part of their art-historical interest from a celebrated prototype, or occupy the territory of changing or cautious attribution. That gives this first group a rather different character from a conventional highlights selection built around a handful of fresh, rare anchor lots. Perhaps that is ultimately the best way to read this preview: not as a parade of trophy works, but as an initial group full of familiar references and a few genuine curiosities.

Notes and sources

[1] Bernaerts Auctioneers, Antwerp, 3 October 2023, “to be attributed to Jan I van Kessel (1626–1679)”, Two Black Birds Holding Salamanders above a Fire, c. 1660–70, oil on copper; estimate €5,000–6,000. The catalogue entry records provenance from Paul Delaroff, RKD Images no. 42228, and three versions according to Klaus and Christa Nitze-Ertz.

[2] Koller Auktionen, Old Master Paintings (A216), Zurich, 27 March 2026, lot 3048, Jan van Kessel the Elder, The Fable of the Fox Invited to Dinner by the Heron, oil on copper, 19.1 × 25.2 cm, signed J. v. Kessel. f. Estimate CHF 10,000–15,000; sold for CHF 75,000 including buyer’s premium. A comparable version is held by the Staatsgalerie Stuttgart, inv. no. 2231.

[3] Pieter Bruegel the Elder, The Dutch Proverbs, 1559, Gemäldegalerie, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin.

[4] Christie’s, Pieter Brueghel the Younger, The Netherlandish Proverbs; discussion of the nine autograph versions recorded by Klaus Ertz.

[5] Christie’s, Old Masters Evening Sale, London, 15 December 2020, Nicolaes Eliasz. Pickenoy, pendant portraits of 1636; catalogue essay discussing Pickenoy’s position within Amsterdam portraiture.

[6] Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Gemäldegalerie, Willem Kalf, Still Life with a Chinese Porcelain Box, 1662, inv. 948F, approximately 67 × 54.7 cm.

[7] National Gallery of Art, Michael Cole, “Sofonisba Anguissola: Recent Discoveries and Debates”, Sydney J. Freedberg Lecture on Italian Art, 17 January 2024.

[8] The historical association of the drawing related to the portrait of a boy with Sofonisba Anguissola, the Earl of Plymouth and Oakly Park derives from RKD documentation, no. 1445882.

The September auction will take place on 24 September 2026. Hampel describes the works currently shown as New Arrivals/New Objects for the forthcoming auctions.