Attributed to James Barbut (c. 1711 - 1788) and Peter Monamy (1689 - 1749) Exotic Ducks and ducklings on the water's edge, with ships at anchor flying the red ensign and firing a salute, and a distant view of a coastal fort (perhaps Walmer Castle, Kent) in the distance Oil on canvas Circa 1745 114.5 x 145.5 cm. (45 x 57 1/4 in) Provenance: Bonhams, London, Old Master Paintings, 9th July, 2008, lot 46 as Studio of Robert Griffier (fl.1738-1773), (£28,800 inc. premium); where purchased by Mallett The present expansive composition may be compared to an open sea view by Robert Griffier of Elizabeth Castle and Saint Aubin's Bay, Jersey (circa 29 1/2 x 41 1/2 in.; commissioned by John Carteret, second Earl of Granville (1680-1763)). The date of the latter painting by Griffier is suggested to have been from circa 1753/45 and completed in 1755. It comprises the same attributes of distant coastline, shipping in a calm and large expanse of water. Works of this genre are exceptionally rare in English painting, and the few examples which survive from the 17th and 18th century owe their origin to a small number of mid-17th century Dutch painters such as Willem Ormea (1611-1665) and his pupil Jakob Gillig (1636-1701); the latter of which painted a number of views of animals, fish and birds on the sea-shore in the foreground with distant prospects out to sea. These were normally done in collaboration with a marine painter: usually Abraham Willaerts in Ormea's case. It seems certain that the present painting is also a collaboration between two hands: the marine painting is very reminiscent of the later work of Peter Monamy, whose style is based on Dutch prototypes. This type of distant coastal prospect is common enough in Monamy's work (notably in the National Maritime Museum), but the addition of the exotic birds animals and shells in the foreground is virtually unique in 18th century England. The carefully observed sea-shells recall the work of the rare English painter James Barbut (c.1711-1788), who exhibited a few still-life oil paintings of seashells, in a style closely related to the present picture, at the Royal Academy in its early years, but who also provided from nature drawings for books on crustaceans, worms etc. illustrative of Linnaean taxonomy. The exotic-looking ducks though seem to derive from prototypes by Adriaen van Oolen (d. Amsterdam 1694) and, ultimately, Melchior d'Hondecoeter, the great Dutch painter of fowl (1636-1695), both of whom frequently painted such subjects.