396 ADRIAEN VAN OSTADE SECT. 826. The Backgammon-Players. Sm. 204, and Suppl. 115. In front are four men. Two of them sit at a table playing backgammon. One of the others stands at the foot of a ladder, smoking his pipe and watching the game. The fourth man stands at the end of the table, commenting on the play. Farther away a man in a blue jacket, red cap, and white apron sits comfortably on a chair, lighting his pipe at a charcoal pan which he holds in his right hand. Behind him a man and a woman pay their reckoning to the hostess, who holds a jug. In the left back- ground two other peasants warm themselves by the fire. In the fore- ground lies a three-legged stool. [Pendant to 816]. Signed, and dated 1674 ; panel, 12 inches by 10 inches. Mentioned by Ch. Blanc, Le Tr'esor de la Curiosite, ii. 447. Sale. Comte de Perregaux, Paris, December 8, 1841, No. 28 (7000 francs, Nieuwenhuys, according to the original catalogue ; or George, according to Sm. ; or De Morkowe, according to Blanc) ; it was in the Perregaux collection in 1825 (Sm.). 827. The Backgammon-Players. Under a broad thatch outside a cottage peasants play backgammon. An old man leaning on the upper edge of the table, two children and a man seated by the door, look on. An old couple and two children are at the open door. In the distance are two persons conversing. Signed, A. v. Ostade ; panel, 18 inches by 16 inches. Sale. Adolf Schuster and others, Cologne, November 14, 1892, No. 113. 828. Backgammon - Players at an Inn. Sm. 31 and 43. In the centre of a homely room two men sit at a table playing backgammon. The man on the left, dressed in yellow, is drinking ; the man on the right arranges his pieces. In front of him to the right a peasant in a blue jacket sits in a little arm-chair with his back to the spectator ; the hostess standing to the right of him and farther back hands him a glass. At the back of the table two other peasants watch the pkyer. On the left a little dog lies on the floor. Signed, A. V. Ostade ; panel, 14 inches by 12^ inches. Mentioned by Descamps ; and by Ch. Blanc, Le Tre'sor de la Curiosite, ii. 169. Exhibited at the Royal Academy Winter Exhibition, London, 1892, No. 97 ; and at the Guildhall Art Gallery, London, 1894, No. 66. Sales. Gerard Braamcamp, Amsterdam, July 3, 1771, No. 301 (700 florins, P. Calkoen), said to be on canvas. P. Calkoen, Amsterdam, September 10, 1781, No. 102 (705 florins, Fouquet). Calonne, Paris, April 21, 1788 (2020 francs). Calonne, Paris, March 23, 1795 (2875 francs). In the collection of E. H. Lawrence, London. In the possession of the London dealer Martin Colnaghi. In the possession of the Paris dealer Ch. Sedelmeyer, "Catalogue of 300 Paintings," 1898, No. 101. _ In the possession of the New York dealers Knoedler, 1898. 829. Backgammon - Players by Candlelight. In a dark shed
