A 17th-century painting Antwerp artist Clara Peeters has been auctioned by Sotheby's in London for £695,000 (roughly €815,000).
Sotheby's had initially valued the artwork between £500,000 and £700,000 (€583,000 to €816,000). The actual purchase price exceeded these estimates, however. This piece emerged as the Flemish artist's most expensive artwork sold at Sotheby's, and her most costly creation in general.
The vibrant oil painting was likely created around 1615. It is a highly-detailed still life of a bouquet comprising roses, irises, tulips, and daffodils gathered in a wicker basket against a dark background, with a butterfly adding a touch of realism to the scene.
"A recent rediscovery, this unpublished work is an important addition to the Flemish female artist's small corpus and is notably one of only a few examples in which she employed the copper medium," Sotheby's noted on its website.
"This magnificent floral still life appears at auction here for the first time in over two generations, having remained in the same family collection since the early 20th century."
