Roesen, a German immigrant, is considered to be among the most accomplished of the nineteenth-century American still-life painters. Originally trained as a porcelain painter, he arrived in America around 1848 and worked in New York and Philadelphia before settling in Williamsport, Pennsylvania about 1860, where he remained until his death until 1871. What is most remarkable is the sheer size of this painting; only six works of this scale attributable to Roesen are recorded today. A stamp of an art-supply shop on the reverse indicates that the painting dates prior to 1858, when Roesen left New York for Philadelphia.