Still Life with Apples, a Candlestick and a Basket

A traditional table-top still life by an unidentified hand, probably from the first half of the twentieth century. Subjects like this were a staple of the studio and the art school.

Five apples sit on a dark polished table. Behind them stand a cream candlestick with red bands and a green candle, a shallow woven basket tipped on its edge, and a metal beaker on a foot. Their reflections show faintly in the tabletop.

Oil on canvas, on its stretcher, unframed. Unsigned on the front. There are scuffs and small paint losses, mostly along the edges, and some surface dirt.