A forest floor with a snake, a hoopoe and butterflies

We are grateful to Fred Meijer, of the RKD, The Hague, for proposing the attribution on first-hand inspection and for suggesting a possible collaboration with Abraham Begeyn (Leiden 1637-1697 Berlin) for the larger leaves. Mr Meijer notes that de Hondecoeter was known for using actual butterfly wings to transfer pigments onto his paintings and suggests this might be the case for the present lot.