The following condition report is provided by Sarah Walden who is an external specialist and not an employee of Sotheby's: This painting, unusually on canvas rather than panel, has a very old stretcher and lining, which seems to be comparatively stable. There is a fairly marked craquelure, without any noticeable stretcher bar line suggesting early lining perhaps. The craquelure is calmer and less marked in the lower half of the painting, which also remains the most finely preserved. The detail within the still life is remarkably pure and intact, as are the fine definitions of light and shade, for example in the transition of the cast shadow of the ledge onto the lighter area below with the artist's signature. The delicacy of the leaves curving into shadow and the minutiae of the description of the gooseberries for instance are also equally intact and unworn, as is the still life almost throughout. The butterfly above is well preserved, however the dark upper background itself has been more vulnerable and there are old retouchings in various places including at the upper centre with another smaller patch of retouching at lower centre. On either side there have been fragile vertical lines of slightly raised flakes and other old flaking. A narrow line of retouching appears under ultra violet light to curve round the branch of gooseberries at mid left, but essentially the lower half of the painting has remained beautifully complete, secure and intact. This report was not done under laboratory conditions.
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