(Koarnjum 1754–1814 Leeuwarden)
A trompe l’oeil, depicting Gouda clay pipes, a pair of scissors, a key, and a waxpit on a faux bois,
signed lower right: A. J. Glinstra f, oil on canvas, 36 x 42.5 cm, framed

Provenance:
Private collection, The Netherlands

The present refined painting is an example of a trompe l’oeil still life, a subgenre which was much favoured during the seventeenth century in the Dutch Republic. An assortment of Goudse pijp, or Gouda clay pipes, are fastened onto a wooden board by some red ribbon. As suggested by the black tarnish on the chambers of the pipes, they have been used to smoke tobacco leaves, a product imported by the Dutch trading companies which was much in favour among all classes of Dutch society.

To complete the composition a pair of scissors hangs on the far left, as does a shiny key on the right, whilst some carefully folded string has been stuffed into a spare loop in the middle. To optimise the illusion, the set of objects is thoughtfully arranged on a precisely captured knotted and grained wooden board.

Little is known about the artist Arend Johan van Glinstra who was from the province of Friesland in the far north of what is now The Netherlands. Records reveal that the painter trained with the Amsterdam artist Jurriaan Andriessen, who was a celebrated painter of murals, which became fashionable amongst the wealthy upper class during the late seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries. Whether van Glinstra moved to Amsterdam in order to train among the many documented pupils of Andriessen is however unknown, but likely.