Parrot tulips, carnations, columbine, marigolds and other flowers in a woven basket, with shells, peaches, cherries, cranberries, plums, a grasshopper and other insects, on a stone ledge

Balthasar van der Ast was the pupil and brother-in-law of Ambrosius Bosschaert I, who is acknowledged as introducing the Flemish tradition of still life painting into Dutch art after his arrival in Middelburg in circa 1585 to escape religious persecution in the Southern Netherlands. Having absorbed the influences of his master, van der Ast broadened his pictorial repertoire to incorporate a more diverse selection of objects in his paintings, including shells and exotic fruit, as exemplified in this previously unrecorded work. The woven basket anchors the composition, while the flowers and tendrils of the columbine, marigolds, carnations and tulips fan out to form a unifying arc. Shells, which feature prominently in the left foreground, were highly desirable in 17th-century Holland and vast prices were paid for the best and rarest examples. As well as a symbol of wealth and luxury, shells have also been interpreted as a sign of vanity and the transience of earthly beauty and possession. Taken in this light, the prominent placement amongst the shells of the grasshopper (which sheds its skin) and caterpillar (which will transform into a butterfly) can be taken as symbols of rebirth and eternity. Van der Ast painted a more simplified rendition of this composition (see Bol, op. cit., p. 74, no. 37).