Etching, drypoint and burin (in the 2nd state). 1650.
Size: 97 x 132 mm. Surface: 128 cm2.
Signed and dated, in the lower left corner: Rembrandt. f. 1650
Copper Plate
The plate was not part of any of the major, early collections. According to some source the plate was part of the Humber sale (London 1993), but this conflicts with the rarity of the prints. According to Nowell-Usticke the plate was in the collection of Beaumont. The present whereabouts of the plate are not known. It is probably not anymore in existence.
Rarity of impressions
In auctions (2000-2025): extremely rare Early: 4 ⦿⦿⦿⦿⦿⦿
In collections (New Hollstein – 2013): very rare Early: 39 ⦿⦿⦿⦿⦿⊙
Catalogue Nowell-Usticke (1967): RRRR-, of the greatest rarity, a Pacific shell, Conus Marmoreus Linne ⦿⦿⦿⦿⦿⦿
Subject/Sitter
This is the only still-life etching by Rembrandt, showing the shell with anti-clockwise rotations as a result of the reversal effect of the printing. Rembrandt had a large collection of exotic shells and other rarities, as is known from the description of his estate in 1656.
This type of shell was called a Hertshoorn (Deer Horn) in the 17th century and the plate was called het hoorentje (the little horn) a century later. Rembrandt bought a similar shell at the Jan Basse sale in March 1637 for a record-breaking 11 guilders.
Related
Rembrandt was probably inspired by the prints of shells that Wenzel Hollar (1607-1677) published in 1646.
Copies
NH lists four copies in the same direction. Copy A is by George Bickham (95 x 129 mm, WB 1). Copy B is by Abraham Hume (89 x 143 mm, WB 2, in fact in reverse). Copies C and D are anonymous (resp. 84 x 132 mm and 146 x 189 mm).
Attributions and reviews
The etching is considered as special by Coppier and Wilson.
States
NH and White-Boon list three states, most other authors two.
In the 1st state (NH, WB, R453) the background is white.
In the 2nd state (NH, WB, R454) the background and foreground are shaded (etching and burin). The centre of the shell appears flat.
In the 3rd state (NH, WB only) the centre of the shell is reworked, making it rising to a point.
Prints and collections
Of the 1st state only five impressions are known, in the Rijksmuseum, the British Museum, the Pierre Morgan Library (New York), the Bibliothèque Nationale (R453) and the Rothschild Collection (Paris).
Of the 2nd state more than thirty impressions are known, watermarks indicate a date around 1650.
Of the 3rd state only one impression is known, in the Rijksmuseum.
An impression of the 2nd state was sold at the Josefowitz sale in December 2023 for £ 580.000 (hammer prize).
Watermarks
In the 1st state: Foolscap.
In the 2nd state: Foolscap with five-pointed collar (2 ed., c. 1650).
Literature
H 248, BB 50-E, G 154, M 290, Mz 274, RA 453-454, Cl 156, W 156, Bl 353, Du 155, CD 205, S 68. Rohde 2005, p. 83; De grote Rembrandt 2006, p. 102; Hinterding 2008, p. 300; Bikker 2019, p. 132;
