A Grand Palace Kitchen Interior, with a Falconer Returning from a Hunt

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David Teniers II , Flemish, 1610-1690

Title

Date1674

MediumOil on canvas

Dimensions

174 × 162.2 cm

Credit LinePurchased, 2026

Object numberNGI.2026.81

DescriptionIn a grand palatial kitchen, a splendidly dressed falconer prepares for the hunt, with his dogs and assistant in tow. The kitchen is bustling with cooks producing a meal nothing short of a feast. This scene may on one level depict the abundance of food prepared on a palatial scale. On another level, the scene is a setting to represent the Four Elements of Earth (fruit, vegetables and meat), Fire (the fireplace), Water (fish) and Air (poultry). Teniers’ composition suggests that the Four Elements working together make for a harmonious kitchen, and by extension, a harmonious universal system.
ProvenanceCount Adam Gottlob Moltke (1710–1792), Copenhagen, by 1780 (according N. Hoyen, 1841); thence by descent to his son, Count Joachim Godske Moltke (1746–1818), Copenhagen; thence by descent to his son, Count Adam Wilhelm Moltke (1785–1864), Copenhagen; thence by descent to his son, Count Frederik Georg Julius Moltke (1825–1875), Copenhagen; thence by descent to his son, Count Frederik Christian Moltke (1854–1936), Copenhagen, by 1885; his sale, Copenhagen, W. Winkel and Magnussen, 1–2 June 1931, lot 125, to 'Mr. Smith' on behalf of Carl Salomonsen; probably thence by descent in the family; by whom probably anonymously sold, London, Christie’s 14 May 1965, lot 89, to Dewitt; Christie’s, London, 6 July 1990, lot 89; with Johnny van Haeften, London, by c.1990; from whom acquired by the previous owner; Sotheby’s, London, 6 December 2023, lot 3.Exhibition HistoryDavid Teniers der Jüngere 1610–1690: Alltag und Vergnügen in Flandern, Staatliche Kunsthalle Karlsruhe, Karlsruhe, 5 November 2005 – 19 February 2006.