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Further plates
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Detail. -
Macro detail, raking light.
Italian School
Bolognese, second quarter of the 17th century
Portrait of a gentleman in a black doublet
Oil on canvas, laid down on panel
29 × 23 in. (73.7 × 58.4 cm), including the frame 36 × 30 in.
Bidding on lot 4
Current bid
$21,000
- Estimate
- $18,000 – 26,000
- Next minimum
- $22,000
- Increment here
- $2,000
- Closes
- Sat, Sep 5, 2:00 PM EDT
Anti-sniping
A bid placed inside the final 3 minutes of this lot extends its close by a further 3 minutes, from the moment of the bid, and does so again for every bid inside the window. Only this lot is extended; the rest of the sale runs on. The rule exists so that a lot is won by the highest bidder rather than by whoever has the fastest connection in the last two seconds. The countdown above shows the extension as it happens.
Or bid another way
- Absentee. Leave a written maximum with the clerk. The house bids on your behalf up to it, and no higher, taking the lot as cheaply as the competition allows.
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Demonstration site. Hammer & Co is a fictional auction house; every lot, estimate, bid, result and provenance chain on this site is invented for the purpose of showing the design. No bid placed here is a real bid and nothing here is offered for sale.
Catalogue note
The sitter is shown half-length, turned slightly to the left, in a black doublet with a falling lace collar. The handling of the collar — laid in wet over a dry ground, with the lace drawn back into it with the butt of the brush — is characteristic of the Bolognese workshops of the 1630s. The attribution is offered as School rather than to a hand; the department has seen nothing that would carry it further and declines to guess.
Condition report
Good Reported by Margaret Sowerby on August 16, 2026
The canvas has been laid down on a panel, an old and stable intervention. A fine age craquelure throughout, more open in the darks. Some overpaint along the lower edge and in the background upper left, roughly 4 per cent of the surface. The varnish is discoloured and would benefit from cleaning. A later frame, gilded over a red bole, with losses to the outer moulding at the lower right corner.
Ultraviolet. Under ultraviolet the retouching described above fluoresces clearly. No evidence of a signature having been removed.
A condition report is an opinion, honestly held, given as a courtesy and not a warranty. It is not a substitute for examining the lot yourself, and the absence of a reference to a defect does not imply that the lot is free from it. Every lot is sold as is.
Provenance
- by 1911 Private collection, Turin.
- 1948 By descent to the present owner’s grandfather.
- to date Private collection, New York.
Literature
- Unpublished.
Every provenance chain on this demonstration site is invented. No real collection, sale or ownership history is described.
The bidding ladder
Bids step by a published ladder, not a percentage. At $21,000 the step is $2,000, so the next admissible bid is $22,000. The auctioneer may vary the increment at their discretion.
| Bid at | Increment |
|---|---|
| $0 – $199 | $10 |
| $200 – $499 | $25 |
| $500 – $999 | $50 |
| $1,000 – $1,999 | $100 |
| $2,000 – $4,999 | $250 |
| $5,000 – $9,999 | $500 |
| $10,000 – $19,999 | $1,000 |
| $20,000 – $49,999 | $2,000 |
| $50,000 – $99,999 | $5,000 |
| $100,000 – $199,999 | $10,000 |
| $200,000 – $499,999 | $20,000 |
| $500,000 – $999,999 | $50,000 |
| $1,000,000 and above | $100,000 |
