The substantial, 3ft 10in x 2ft 9in (1.18m x 83cm), oil on panel had formerly been in the collection of Scottish architect and furniture designer Robert Lorimer (1864-1929), and was photographed in his dining room by Country Life in 1913.
More recently, it had sold at Christie’s in 2001 for a premium-inclusive £13,512 to the vendor here.
Catalogued as ‘English School’ and dating from 1629, the sombre painting depicts the sitter in a black dress with lace collar, piously holding a bible in her right hand. According to the painting’s inscription, the woman was 62 years old – a remarkable age to reach in a period where nine in 10 people died before they were 40.
At Mander, the painting carried a £10,000-15,000 estimate, and sold to the trade.
Dentist pulls out his paintbrushes
Another trade purchase, this time of local interest, was a 20in x 2ft 5in (50 x 75cm) oil on canvas painted in the 1980s by dentist-turned-artist Clive Madgwick (1934-2005).
Removed from a house clearance sale, Evening Light, Long Melford Green ticked the boxes, being large in size, fresh to market and depicting one of the most recognisable local views of the green at Long Melford (a five-minute drive from the saleroom).
It took £1450 against a £1000-1500 guide, and is among the highest prices for the painter at auction.
