This still-life painting – one of the most popular genres in seventeenth-century Holland – celebrates the challenges of depicting the play of light on different surfaces and textures. Look at the subtle highlights on the weave of the Turkish carpet, the sheen and lustre on silver and glass, the moist flesh of the lemon and waxy texture of its peel.
The objects chosen also evoke a sumptuous lifestyle. Lobster was a luxury dish and lemons were rare and expensive, as were the fine glass, the oriental rug and silver tableware. It was probably commissioned by a member, or members, of the Saint Sebastian Archers' Guild in Amsterdam. The base of the silver mount which holds the drinking horn depicts Saint Sebastian’s martyrdom – he was tied up and shot with arrows – while the support underneath the table has been carved into a figure of the Roman god Cupid, famous for his arrows of love.
Text extracted from the ‘Provenance’ section of the catalogue entry in Neil MacLaren, revised and expanded by Christopher Brown, ‘National Gallery Catalogues: The Dutch School: 1600–1900’, London 1991; for further information, see the full catalogue entry.
C. Baker and T. Henry, The National Gallery: Complete Illustrated Catalogue, London 2001
This is a seventeenth-century Dutch box frame. The palisander veneer has rich streaks of colour, ranging from orange-red to black. The frame has a top fillet with edge roll, repeated again between the hollow and frieze, and concluding at the sight edge.
The frame was acquired for Kalf’s Still Life with Drinking-Horn in 1980.
If you know more about this painting or have spotted an error, please contact us. Please note that exhibition histories are listed from 2009 onwards. Bibliographies may not be complete; more comprehensive information is available in the National Gallery Library.
