ADAM'S THE LIBRARY COLLECTION 29th April 2025

158 306 FRENCH SCHOOL (EARLY 19TH CENTURY) Design for a decorative wall panel Watercolour, 52 x 42cm Inscribed with ‘No. 8’, also with collector’s stamp recto and numbered ‘39’ € 700 - 1,000 Within the arched green foliage border, adorned with small flowers and leaves, and among the stylised lion heads holding yellow garlands, exotic birds, butterflies, and insects, is a panel depicting a parrot harnessed to a chariot, with a grasshopper acting as the charioteer. The whimsical image is based on an etching by Nicola Vanni (1720–1800) after Roccus Pozzi (fl. 1750–1770). The image is inspired by ancient Roman wall paintings discovered in Herculaneum, which were documented in the 18th-century publication Le Antichità di Ercolano Esposte, published between 1757 and 1792 by the Regia Stamperia. An example of a completed wall panel featuring the same grasshopper driving a parrot-cart can be found in the Vana-Võidu Manor, Estonian Acade- my of Arts, Estonia, completed in the mid-19th century. The collectors mark in blue ink (lower right), almost octagonal in form, resembles a mark that has been ob- served on several drawings spanning a variety of schools by Frits Lugt and recorded in Les Marques de Col- lections de Dessins & d’Estampes (L. 4792). Its appearance remains somewhat enigmatic. Notably, multiple examples from the renowned collection of Albert Finot (L.3627) bear a mark similar to this lot. Among these are sheets presented at the Drouot Estimations sale held on 18 November 2005 in Paris, including Lot 34, attributed to Roland-Louis Trinquesse; Lot 40, attributed to Louis Tocqué; Lot 87, ascribed to Jan van Huysum; part of Lot 92, attributed to the School of Jean-Baptiste Oudry; and part of Lot 94, from the workshop of Do- menico Piola. An earlier appearance possibly of this mark was documented during a sale on 6 December 1982 in Paris, featuring sheets from the same collection. On this occasion, the mark was stamped with the letter “C” at its center, on the recto of a drawing attributed to P. Damini (Lot 16), now part of a private Parisian collec- tion. The relationship between the mark and the letter “C” remains uncertain. Additionally, the mark has been identified on the counterproof of a drawing attributed to Adam Frans van der Meulen, engraved by Jan van Huchtenburg, though the provenance of this example remains unclear (Sanchez-Seydoux Gallery, Paris, 2001).