When the dendrochronologist comes (ctd.)
December 3 2012
Picture: Philip Mould & Company
Last week I mentioned that we had a visit from the dendrochronologist Peter Klein. We had four panels dated, and happily the results were good for all four. For example, it seems that our recently acquired portrait of Mary I is contemporaneous, while the above portrait by the Master of the Countess of Warwick, which is dated 1565, came back with a 'most plausible creation date' of 1564 (phew).
A fellow dealer who also used Peter's services found that his panel (a sleeper) came from the same tree as a number of other panels used to support known works by a Very Famous Artist. Result! If I ask him nicely, he might let me tell you about it. It's a nice example of how science can help prove a connoisseurial hunch.
