Edwaert Collier

Edwaert Collier

Vanitas Still Life with Nautilus Cup, Candle and Books

Oil on canvas (relined). 59 x 64.5 cm.

Provenance
Christie's, Amsterdam, 16.11.2005, lot 90 (as Edwaert Collier, Circle). – Roseberys, London, 10.3.2026, lot 70 (as Edwaert Collier, Circle). – Bonhams, London, 1.7.2026, lot 40 (as Edwaert Collier). – Private collection, England.

The present still life can be read as a memento mori: in contrast to the silver-mounted nautilus cup, symbol of wealth, the other displayed objects – the blown-out candle and the bubbles, as well as the Latin inscription 'Homo est similis Bullae' – all remind us of the transience of life. The composition closely relates to other works by Collier, such as the Vanitas still life with a portrait of King Charles I of England dated 1698 and a vanitas still life of a nautilus cup and a candlestick with a snuffed-out candle, all on a draped table, c. 1698. This painting can therefore be dated to the late 1690s.

The attribution to Collier was recently confirmed by Fred G. Meijer on the basis of colour images.