Almonds, Oysters, Sweets, Chestnuts, and Wine on a Wooden Table, c.1605-30 (oil on panel)

Bears signature D. D. Heem with the second and third initials conjoined in the lower left foreground. The depiction of this sumptuous still life derives from imagery used by Osias Beert I and Frans Francken I to illustrate the story The Rich Man and Poor Lazarus, a parable of greed and deprivation. In the left foreground is a Wan Li bowl of peeled almonds mixed with candied almonds (today called “Jordan almonds”) and candied cinnamon sticks, called kapittelstokjes in Dutch after the marker used as a place holder in the Bible by a minister. To the right are oysters on a pewter platter. On the left, two façon de Venise glasses, filled with white and red wine. In the centre, an ornate silver tazza decorated with bejeweled seahorses, holds an array of sweets including a rectangular almond paste tartlet, a tartlet topped with three different types of grapes, round almond paste tartlets, biscotti, as well as white and red molded letters.