The plate was possibly part of the sale of Clement de Jonghe (1679) as 69 een oudwijfs tronitjen. It was not in any of the later auctions or collections and is probably not in existence anymore.

Rembrandt’s mother, Neeltgen van Zuytbrouck, was born ca. 1568 in Noordwijk. She married to Harmen Gerritzn van Rijn on 8 October 1589. She got ten children, of which Rembrandt was the youngest. She died in 1640 in Leiden. Although there is no certainty about her identity, it seems that Rembrandt has pictured this model in at least six etchings and several paintings. The reference to Rembrandt’s mother dates to the inventory-list of Clemens de Jonghe of 1679, ten years after Rembrandt’s death. Since the same model appears in several works by Jan Lievens, Rembrandt’s companion during his training in Leiden, it has been suggested that she could also be Lievens’ grandmother, who was around sixty at that time.

With the black shawl over her shoulders the lady looks like a widow.

There are five copies in reverse. Copy A was long considered to be a work by Rembrandt, (listed by Bartsch under number 344) and later attributed to Ferdinand Bol or Karel van der Pluym. It is inscribed Rembrandt f (three states, 150 x 116 mm, WB 3). It is twice included in “Rembrandt in Black & White”, nrs 355 and 379). NH lists more than 70 impressions. Copy B is a contemporary anonymous copy, inscribed Rijn V (145 x 124 mm. WB 2). Copy C shows a half figure only, signed by Costantino Cumano, inscribed Rt inv (89 x 73 mm, WB 1). Copy D is anonymous, with the bust only (82 x 73 mm, WB 4). Copy E is a mezzotint, signed John Burnet (150 x 130 mm, WB 5).

The etching is considered as special by De Claussin.
The plate is not by Rembrandt according to Singer or made by a pupil, according to Coppier.

As most authors NH lists three states, the final one not by Rembrandt. Nowell-Usticke lists one trial proof and three states, all contemporary.
In the 1st state (NH, WB, R902/Trial proof a NU) the area below the chair is lightly shaded with cross-hatching. There is a white triangular area at the top of the shadow beside the left margin.
In  the 2nd state (NH, WB, R903/1st state NU) heavy diagonal shading is added left of the chair. The upper part of this shadow continues to the left margin. The outline of the nose is light, but double, showing a hump in the middle (NU).
In the 2nd state (NU/3rd state H) the outline of the nose is a single line, the hump is straightened, a black spot appears at the tip of the nose.
In the 3rd state (NH, WB, NU) the plate is cut to an oval, almost certainly not by Rembrandt.
The spot on the nose, by Hind, Rovinsky and Nowell-Usticke considered a separate state, is probably an accidental mark on the plate, removed by hand on some impressions of the 2nd state (BB).

Of the 1st state (NU trial proof A) only one impression is known, in the Rijksmuseum.
There are at least eleven editions of the 2nd state, with seven different watermarks, dating from 1632 to 1651.

In the 2nd state: Arms of Ravensburg, Arms of Württemberg (2 ed. c. 1634 and c. 1634-36); Basilisk (c. 1632); Double-headed eagle (c. 1632-34); Foolscap with five-pointed collar (4 ed. 1643, c. 1639-40, c. 1648 and c. 1650-51); Countermark LB (c. 1650-51); Posthorn (c. 1632); Single-headed eagle with Basel crosier (c. 1637); Strasbourg bend (1646); Strasbourg lily (c. 1652) for a total of fourteen editions.

H 52, BB 31-8, G 313, M 54, Mz 85, RA 902-903, Cl 333, W 339, Bl 196, Du 332, CD 53
Rembrandt’s Women 2001, p. 68; Hinterding 2006, p. 327-328; Rohde 2006, p. 8; Hinterding 2008, p. 579-581; Rembrandts Radierungen 2011, p. 38-39;

NH/WB: 2nd state of III
A fine, dark and early impression, the spot on the nose clearly visible. A small repair with touches of pen and ink to the right of her hands, another tiny repair in the blank area to the left.
Sheet 149/147 x 130 mm, no margins, trimmed on or slightly within the platemark (-1%).
Watermark: Double-headed eagle (Hinterding A-a-b, dated 1632-1634), vertical chain lines at approx. 25 mm.

In the collection of the physician Dr. August Sträter (Rheine 1810-1897 Aachen, Lugt 787) his collectors mark in black ink verso (2x). It may have been in the posthumous sale of the collection with H.G.Gutekunst (Stuttgart) in May 1898 in which sale 250 prints by Rembrandt were sold.

Rembrandt in Zwart-Wit, Westfries Museum (Hoorn), Het Markiezenhof (Bergen op Zoom), Stedelijk Museum Zutphen, Het Hannemahuis (Harlingen), Museum Gouda, Jan ten Horne Museum (Weert), March 2013-February 2015;
Rembrandt in Black & White, Schloß Britz (Berlin), Bozar Expo (Brussels), Chateau des Penthes (Geneva), November 2015-September 2016;
Rembrandt, fotograaf avant-la-lettre, Museum De Reede (Antwerp), January – May 2023;
Rembrandt, de fotograaf, Westfries Museum (Hoorn), June 2024 – January 2025;