TenCate Art

Journal

Notes from the gallery on attribution, provenance, conservation and the close reading of works of art.

Small oil portrait of a noblewoman in an elaborate white ruff

Research note · 25 September 2026

Reading the Ruff

How court dress challenged an auction room attribution

A small portrait catalogued as eighteenth century began to tell a different story once we looked closely at the collar, pearls, bodice and panel.

Read the article