144 JAN STEEN SECT. Saks. William II. of Holland, The Hague, August 12, 1850, No. 99 (3000 florins, Pescatore) ; the dimensions are wrongly given as 13 inches by 14 inches. J. P. Pescatore, Paris, 1851. Now in the Pescatore Museum, Luxemburg, 1872 catalogue, No. 60. [A similar picture, called "Twelfth Night," was in the sale of William Champion, London, 1810 (105).] 535. A MERRY COMPANY. In a well-lighted room a family are seated at table. In the foreground a young man laughing holds out his glass to a girl who raises a jug to pour out wine for him. The girl wears a brown dress and a blue apron. Farther back is a woman with a child at her breast ; a man seated at her side is kissing her. In the back- ground are a bagpiper and a boy, -who has mounted a ladder to give food to a parrot in a cage hanging from the ceiling. In all there are sixteen persons, with a dog in the foreground. The execution is somewhat sketchy, but the lighting is very refined. Signed in full to the right on the back of a chair ; canvas, 32^ inches by 27! inches. Now in the Louvre, La Caze collection, 1900 catalogue, No. 2579. 536. A MERRY COMPANY IN FRONT OF AN INN. Sm. Suppl. 58 ; W. 157. Twenty men and women sit at table in front of an inn. Near the table a comely woman pours out a glass of wine for an aged man seated on a bench. Between them are an old woman and a young woman, who holds out a jug to a man standing beside a white ass. Through a doorway are seen several figures, buildings, and the entrance to a village. On the right is a house built on piles ; near it is a bowling green. In the foreground are various kitchen utensils ; a youth sits smok- ing on a bench near a sleeping dog. To the left is a staircase with several figures upon it. On the house hangs a signboard, inscribed : "Als men wel lostig heeft gesopen ont geweten de vriendelyke pypen vol toch niet vergeten niet zonder dat." ["When one has right merrily eaten and drunk, one will not forget the friendly pipes."] Signed in full in the centre of the foreground ; canvas on panel, 24^ inches by 33 inches. Sales. D. Teixeira, jun., The Hague, July 23, 1832, No. 71 (1700 florins). Martini, Paris, March 23, 1844 (3450 francs). Baron de , Paris, March 25, 1857 (3200 francs). In the possession of the dealer F. Kleinberger, Paris. Now in the collection of the Marquis d'Aoust, Paris. [A second " Merry Company" in the same collection is 586.] 537. A MERRY COMPANY AT TABLE. Twelve persons, with many accessories in the foreground and a fine curtain similar to that in the picture in the Mauritshuis (595). In the collection of the late Baron Alphonse de Rothschild, Paris. 538. A MERRY COMPANY. There are in all twelve figures.
