Still-life with olives (1634). The prunts on this rummer are clearly visible. They were not merely decorative but provided a firm grip on the glass in an age when food was eaten mostly with the fingers, which could consequently become very greasy.

The pewter spoon on the pie dish would have been used to scoop out the pie contents. Diners in England (and clearly in Holland too at this time) were furnished with a single knife to cut food portions into bite-sized pieces for eating with the fingers. These knives were personal items that the diners would bring to the table. They were carried in a decorated sheath hung from the belt. The knife, with a bone or ivory handle, is lying under the pewter flagon and its leather sheath, with the cap removed, is to the right of the painting, in front of the pie dish.

The body shape of the fine pewter flagon would be familiar in England but the spout appears to have been a purely Continental refinement. There was a strong export market in best quality English pewter but there is no evidence to suggest that designs were created specially for the European market, so these spouted flagons are probably of local manufacture. Today these pewter flagons with their distinctive spout are usually called Jan-Steen jugs.