Object dossier · version 0.9 · 2026-08-12
Self-Portrait in a Velvet Cap with Plume
Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn, 1606–1669 · 1638 · Drypoint etching
NP-RMB-001 · https://theplatemark.com/object/np-rmb-001
Status of this document
Version 0.9, not deposited and without a DOI. Nothing in it has been examined by a paper conservator or ruled on by a specialist in Old Master prints. It is circulated for exactly that purpose. Cite it as a working record and expect it to change.
← Publications and datathe same record as JSONPrint this page for a PDF.
1Summary
One impression of Rembrandt's 1638 etched self-portrait, held in a private collection and published here as an open research record. It was bought at auction in New York in 2023 and is catalogued as New Hollstein 170, state III of IV — a state the catalogue describes as rebitten and reworked by a hand that was not Rembrandt's. It has still not been examined by a conservator or by a specialist in Old Master prints. This page states what is known, what is reported, and what is unknown, and marks each with its evidence.
- Catalogue references
- Bartsch 20; New Hollstein 170
- Collection
- Private collection, Dubai, United Arab Emirates
- Claims on the record
- 18, of which 100% cite evidence
- Open questions
- 8 of 12
- Impressions in the census
- 27 across 18 institutions
- Images of this sheet published
- None
2The record, claim by claim
| Field | Value | Confidence & evidence |
|---|---|---|
| Artist | Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn (1606–1669) | Strongly supported Institutional record; Auction catalogue; Primary document |
| Title | Self-Portrait in a Velvet Cap with Plume | Confirmed Institutional record |
| Date of the plate | 1638 | Confirmed Institutional record |
| Date of printing of this sheet | Unknown. Later than Rembrandt's lifetime only if the state III attribution holds | Unknown Institutional record; Auction catalogue; Physical observation |
| Catalogue reference (Bartsch) | Bartsch 20 | Confirmed Institutional record; Auction catalogue |
| Catalogue reference (New Hollstein) | New Hollstein 170 | Confirmed Institutional record; Auction catalogue |
| Medium | Drypoint etching, on laid paper | Strongly supported Institutional record; Auction catalogue |
| Support | Laid paper | Strongly supported Institutional record; Auction catalogue |
| Watermark | Not examined; the catalogue records no watermarks for this state | Unknown Physical observation; Institutional record |
| State | Catalogued by the auction house as New Hollstein 170, state III of IV; state II not excluded | Possible Auction catalogue; Institutional record; Auction catalogue |
| Dimensions | Sheet approximately 137 × 104 mm; plate 134 × 103 mm | Probable Institutional record; Auction catalogue |
| Condition summary | Trimmed at the left margin; wrinkling and dampstaining at lower left, extending partly into the image; unmounted at purchase | Strongly supported Auction catalogue; Auction catalogue |
| Collector marks and inscriptions | No collector's mark, stamp or inscription visible on either side | Probable Auction catalogue |
| Acquisition | Bonhams, Fine Books and Manuscripts, sale 28358, lot 182, New York, 24 April – 4 May 2023 | Confirmed Primary document; Auction catalogue |
| Current custody | Private collection, Dubai, United Arab Emirates | Confirmed Primary document |
| Ownership before 2023 | Private collection, Germany, consigned through a European antiquarian dealer; nothing documented before that | Probable Specialist opinion |
| Metadata rights | CC0 1.0 Universal — no rights reserved over the descriptive metadata | Confirmed Primary document |
| Image rights | No image of this impression is published | Confirmed Auction catalogue; Primary document |
3State
The states below are given in the New Hollstein's own words, from the catalogue entry for no. 170. How many states this plate has depends on which catalogue you read — Bartsch, Hollstein and White & Boon each recognise one, New Hollstein four — so a state is meaningless without naming the catalogue it belongs to. Note also that the catalogue's reproductions show the signature legibly only in states I and IV: an impression with no visible signature is narrowed to state II or III and no further.
State I — Before the jaw is defined
New Hollstein, verbatim: “The jaw under the left ear not defined by a clear contour.” The plate is already signed and dated upper left, Rembrandt f 1638. The catalogue records four impressions in this state: Amsterdam (RP-P-1961-989), Darmstadt (GSHL, GR.10753), Paris (Lugt, 4692) and Stuttgart (A10901).
- · The jaw under the left ear is not defined by a clear contour
- · Signature and date present in the plate, upper left: Rembrandt f 1638
- · Papers recorded for this state: Strasbourg lily; Strasbourg lily with initials BA, c. 1638
State II — The jaw clearly delineated
New Hollstein, verbatim: “The jaw under the left ear clearly delineated. A few lines added to the shadow of the nose, under the right eye.” The catalogue then notes “White & Boon only state” — that is, the single state recognised by White & Boon corresponds to this one. By far the most numerous state: the catalogue lists something over sixty impressions across more than forty collections, several of them retouched by later hands with pen, brush and grey ink.
- · The jaw under the left ear clearly delineated
- · A few lines added to the shadow of the nose, under the right eye
- · Signature and date still present
- · Papers recorded for this state include Arms of Bristol, Arms of Ravensburg, Basel crosier, Basilisk (c. 1640–47), Foolscap and its variants, and Strasbourg lily
State III — Rebitten and reworked — and not by Rembrandt
New Hollstein, verbatim: “Probably rebitten; many lines stronger and broader than in early impressions. Work on the cap strengthened, for instance, cross-hatching added at the base of the feather and along the brim of the cap above the eyes. The curved lines on the forehead extended over the brim of the cap. Strong horizontal shading on the right ear. Short diagonal lines added in front of the left ear, and to the beard, on the right side of the chin. Not by Rembrandt.” The catalogue lists seven impressions, two of them in Basan albums — which is why none surfaced in a search of online collection databases.
- · Many lines stronger and broader than in early impressions — probably rebitten
- · Cross-hatching added at the base of the feather and along the brim of the cap above the eyes
- · The curved lines on the forehead extended over the brim of the cap
- · Strong horizontal shading on the right ear
- · Short diagonal lines added in front of the left ear, and to the beard on the right side of the chin
- · The catalogue lists no watermarks for this state
State IV — The signature clumsily redrawn
New Hollstein, verbatim: “Signature clumsily redrawn (H.L. Basan workshop).” The catalogue lists impressions in Amsterdam, Budapest, London, Moscow and Paris, several of them bound into Basan albums. The British Museum's own record for its impression agrees and dates the edition to around 1810.
- · Signature clumsily redrawn, not original
- · Associated with the Recueil published by Henri Louis Basan in Paris, around 1810
- · Frequently found bound into Basan albums
- · The catalogue lists no watermarks for this state
The question a specialist is being asked
The auction cataloguer determined state III. One of the two grounds given — no visible signature — does not discriminate, because the catalogue’s reproduction of state II does not show the signature clearly either. So the determination rests on the line-work. Are the state III features present in this sheet: cross-hatching at the base of the feather and along the brim of the cap above the eyes; the curved forehead lines carried over the brim; strong horizontal shading on the right ear; short diagonals in front of the left ear and on the beard at the right of the chin?
4Provenance
- 1638
Rembrandt works the plate · the work concept
Rembrandt etches the copper plate in Amsterdam. This event belongs to the work, not to this sheet: it is the origin of the image, and it is the only point on this timeline that is securely dated.
- 1679 – 1786
The copper plate in Dutch and French collections · the plate
New Hollstein records the plate as possibly in the 1679 inventory of Clement de Jonghe, as “13 conterf.[eytsel] van Rembr.[andt]”; then Pieter de Haan's sale of 1767, lot 2, to Fouquet; then Claude-Henri Watelet's sale of 1786, lot 365. This is the plate's history, not this sheet's — but this sheet came off that plate, so it bounds where it came from.
- c. 1786 – 1846
The Basan workshop, and the reworking of the plate · the plate
Rembrandt's plates passed en bloc to Basan for 500 livres. Pierre-François Basan died in 1797; the plate descended to Henry-Louis Basan, who sold it around 1809 to Auguste Jean, and on Jean's death in 1820 to his widow, whose collection was auctioned in 1846 as lot 540. It is in this period that the plate was rebitten and reworked by a hand that was not Rembrandt's, producing the third state, and later had its signature clumsily redrawn in the Basan workshop, producing the fourth. If this sheet is state III, it was printed inside this window.
- Unknown; after the plate was reworked, if state III holds
This impression is printed
If the state III attribution holds, this sheet was pulled after the plate had been rebitten and reworked by a hand that was not Rembrandt's. That would place it in the plate's French afterlife. The conditional matters: the state attribution is one cataloguer's, and the feature the record leaned on to support it — an absent signature — does not in fact separate state III from state II, because the catalogue's reproduction of state II does not show the signature clearly either. No date is asserted here.
- c. 1846 – before 2023
No documented ownership of this sheet
The sheet's own ownership is undocumented for most of this period. One link is now named: the auction house's specialist states that the work was consigned by a European antiquarian dealer, from a private collection in Germany. Neither the dealer nor the family is named, and the project has not seen documentation behind the statement — but it is the department specialist's own account and it is the first evidenced point inside the gap.
- 1846 – 1993
The plate to Bernard, Alvin-Beaumont, Humber, and a private collection · the plate
Bought in 1846 by Auguste Bernard, by descent to his son Michel Bernard, who sold it in 1906 to Alvin-Beaumont, who sold it in 1937 to Robert Lee Humber; on Humber's death in 1970 to his heirs, and sold in 1993 through Artemis London with R.M. Light. The catalogue records the plate as last in a private collection in the United States.
- Before April 2023
Private collection, Germany, via a European antiquarian dealer
The department specialist at the auction house states that the work was consigned by a European antiquarian dealer, acting for a private collection in Germany. The family is not named and the house declined to disclose it. This is a statement by a named professional about a transaction he handled, which is good evidence of the consignment route and no evidence at all about how long the German collection had held the sheet.
- 24 April – 4 May 2023
Sold at Bonhams, New York — sale 28358, lot 182
Offered in Fine Books and Manuscripts, an online-only sale, and sold as lot 182. The catalogue described it as a drypoint etching, 137 × 104 mm, unsigned and undated (but 1638), on laid paper, with the left margin roughly trimmed, some wrinkling and dampstaining to the lower left corner including part of the image, unmounted; and catalogued it as Bartsch 20, New Hollstein 170, state III of IV. The receipt is dated 17 May 2023. The consignor is not named in the catalogue and is not known to the project.
- 2023 – present
Private collection, Dubai
Held in a private collection in Dubai. The sheet has not been exhibited, lent, published or examined by a conservator during this period. It has not been displayed, so its cumulative light exposure in these years is nil.
- 12 August 2026
Open research record published
The object receives the identifier NP-RMB-001 and a public record. Publication itself becomes part of the provenance: from this date the sheet has a citable, versioned scholarly history that travels with it.
5Condition and conservation
- Trimming
The sheet is described as roughly trimmed at the left margin. Trimming is irreversible and removes evidence: margins can carry plate marks, inscriptions, dealer codes and collector marks, and their loss narrows what can later be established about the sheet's history.
Left margin · significant · Auction cataloguer's description, corroborated by the house's own condition photographs. Not a conservator's assessment.
- Dampstaining
Staining consistent with historic water exposure at the lower left, reported as extending partly into the printed image. Extent, tideline definition and whether the staining is active or stable have not been assessed.
Lower left · moderate · Auction cataloguer's description, corroborated by the house's own condition photographs. Not a conservator's assessment.
- Cockling / wrinkling
Planar distortion of the sheet in the same area as the staining, which is what one would expect if the two share a cause. Whether the distortion is stable at current relative humidity is unknown.
Lower left · moderate · Auction cataloguer's description, corroborated by the house's own condition photographs. Not a conservator's assessment.
- Housing
Unmounted at purchase. An unmounted sheet is easier to examine and to image, and carries no risk from an old adhesive or an acidic backing board — but it is also less protected in handling and storage, and appropriate archival housing is the first thing a conservator will address.
Whole sheet · minor · Owner's observation, not a conservator's
- Not yet assessed
No assessment exists of foxing, tears, losses, abrasion, thinning, skinning, surface dirt, media stability, or the pH of the support. The auction house's photographs show scattered spotting in the upper right of the recto and a diagonal tideline running across the lower half of the sheet, neither of which is described in the catalogue entry; both need a conservator's eye rather than a reader's.
Whole sheet · minor · unattributed
No treatment has been performed or commissioned. 2 options have been considered and declined on the standing rule that appearance is not a reason to treat. Cumulative recorded light exposure under this stewardship is 0 lux hours.
6Impression census
27 recorded impressions of this plate, each transcribed from the holding institution’s own published record. Full table with sources at https://theplatemark.com/census.
| State | Institution | Accession | Watermark |
|---|---|---|---|
| I | Rijksmuseum | RP-P-1961-989 | — |
| I | Staatsgalerie Stuttgart, Graphische Sammlung | A 10901 | — |
| I | Victoria and Albert Museum | CAI.715 | — |
| II | Harvard Art Museums / Fogg Museum | G4910 | — |
| II | National Gallery of Art | 1943.3.7201 | Foolscap |
| II | National Gallery of Victoria | 19-4 | Arms of Ravensburg (variant C.a.) - fragments with battlements appearing as two towers with gate between, on a console |
| II | Rijksmuseum | RP-P-OB-285 | — |
| II | Statens Museum for Kunst (SMK) | KKSgb5223 | — |
| II | The British Museum | 1910,0212.376 | Basilisk (Hinterding catalogue, variant A'.a., datable c.1641-47 [detail of wing only]) |
| II | The British Museum | F,4.25 | Probably Strasbourg lily (Hinterding catalogue, variant ZZ.zz [detail of top only]) |
| II | The Morgan Library & Museum | RvR 24 | Countermark: Letters 'RP' with trefoil |
| IV | Rijksmuseum | RP-P-OB-286 | — |
| IV | The British Museum | 1941,0327.11.3 | — |
| — | Art Institute of Chicago | 1938.1792 | — |
| — | Cleveland Museum of Art | 1942.874 | None recorded (the support_materials watermarks array is present and empty) |
| — | Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco (Achenbach Foundation for Graphic Arts) | 1963.30.187 | — |
| — | Herzog Anton Ulrich-Museum | Rembrandt AB 3.16 | — |
| — | Herzog Anton Ulrich-Museum | Rembrandt AB 3.17 (former number 5376) | — |
| — | Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen | MB 1962/213 (PK) | — |
| — | Museum of Fine Arts, Boston | P391 | — |
| — | Princeton University Art Museum | x1949-229 | — |
| — | RISD Museum (Rhode Island School of Design) | 84.198.1269 | — |
| — | Swann Auction Galleries (sale 2566, 'Old Master Through Modern Prints', 6 May 2021, lot 87) | — | — |
| — | The Metropolitan Museum of Art | 60.598.66 | — |
| — | The Metropolitan Museum of Art | 64.649.5 | — |
| II | Bonhams (sale 27424, lot 2, London, 13 December 2022) | — | Partial Strasbourg Lily |
| III | Private collection | NP-RMB-001 | — |
7Open questions
RQ-02Is this impression New Hollstein 170, state III?
Resolved byA specialist comparing the sheet against the four features the catalogue uses to define state III: cross-hatching added at the base of the feather and along the brim of the cap above the eyes; the curved lines on the forehead extended over the brim; strong horizontal shading on the right ear; short diagonal lines in front of the left ear and on the beard at the right of the chin. Each is present or it is not, and the answer does not depend on anybody's opinion of the sheet.
RQ-04Does the sheet carry a watermark, and can it narrow the period in which this impression was printed?
Resolved byA transmitted-light image, and either an identification against a published watermark corpus or a documented null result.
RQ-05What is the chain-line spacing, and does it match any impression already recorded in the census?
Resolved byMeasurements taken from a transmitted-light image, published in a comparable format.
RQ-06Was this impression printed during Rembrandt's lifetime, or later?
Resolved byConfirmation or rejection of the state III attribution by a specialist. If state III holds, the sheet is posthumous. If it is a late state II, the question reopens completely.
RQ-09Does any drypoint burr survive in this impression, and what does the plate wear indicate?
Resolved byA specialist's assessment against comparator impressions, with the passages compared identified.
RQ-10What caused the dampstaining, and is it stable?
Resolved byA baseline condition report by a qualified paper conservator.
RQ-11Can any owner of this sheet before 2023 be identified?
Resolved byA collector's mark, a dealer's stock number, or an entry in an earlier sale catalogue that can be matched on measurements and condition features.
RQ-12Which institutional impressions are the right comparators for assessing wear in this one?
Resolved byA census with at least one openly imaged, securely catalogued impression per state.
8Evidence cited
EV-NH-170New Hollstein Dutch & Flemish, Rembrandt, no. 170, pp. 31–32 and plates 84–87
Institutional record · Erik Hinterding and Jaco Rutgers · 2013 · on request
EV-LOT-182Bonhams, Fine Books and Manuscripts, sale 28358, lot 182, New York, 24 April – 4 May 2023
Auction catalogue · Bonhams & Butterfields Auctioneers Corp. · 2023-05
https://www.bonhams.com/auction/28358/lot/182/rembrandt-self-portrait-in-a-velvet-cap-with-plume-van-rijn-rembrandt-harmenszoon-1606-1669-drypoint-etching-137-x-104-mm-unsigned-and-undated-but-1638-on-laid-paper/
EV-BONHAMS-EMAILCorrespondence with Darren Sutherland, Senior Specialist, Fine Books and Manuscripts, Bonhams, 23 May 2023
Specialist opinion · Darren Sutherland, Bonhams · 2023-05-23 · on request
EV-CONDITION-PHOTOSCondition-report photographs of the sheet, recto and verso, supplied by the auction house
Auction catalogue · Bonhams · 2023-05-03 · on request
EV-ACQ-INVOICEBonhams payment receipt, 17 May 2023, transaction 1246701, sale 28358 lot 182
Primary document · Bonhams & Butterfields Auctioneers Corp. · 2023-05-17 · on request
EV-WORKING-RECORDOwner's working object record, assembled 2026
Unreviewed submission · Owner / steward · 2026-08
EV-NO-CONSERVATORNo conservator examination has taken place
Physical observation · 2026-08-12
EV-PROJECT-POLICYRights and licensing policy of this project
Primary document · The Plate Mark · 2026-08-12
https://theplatemark.com/about/rights-and-licensing
9How to cite this version
The Plate Mark. “Self-Portrait in a Velvet Cap with Plume (NP-RMB-001).” Object dossier, version 0.9. 2026-08-12. https://theplatemark.com/publications/dossier-0-9.
Metadata is CC0 1.0; the written text is CC BY 4.0. Corrections are welcome and are credited by name — research@theplatemark.com, or https://theplatemark.com/contribute.