German "Memento Mori" copies elements from Willem Heda

Horta, from Brussels, sells on 16 November 2015 a "German School, 17th century" Memento Mori, estimated at 2,500 to 3,500 Euro.

It is a nice provincial work, with an interesting iconography and a long inscription in a form of German, which isn't always easy to decipher or translate.

My dodgy transcription and translation:
"Gleich wie der Rauch v. Staub vschwint
Also thuen alle Menschen Kint
Darumb gedenct ein ieder ebn
Dasser bey Chisto mög ewig lebn"

"Like smoke and dust disappear
so do also all people
therefor remember, all of you,
that with Christ you may live forever"

"Das Glück ist ??? und Kugel ründt
Das Glas ist aus geht kurze Stündt
Der Todt ist nah kurz ist die Zeit
Wan der Han kret ist der dag nich weit"

"Luck is ??? and round as a ball
The glass is empty since a short while
Death is near and short is the time
When the rooster crows, the day is near"

"Gott is warhaftig und gerecht
Dir ligt der Herr und auch sein Knecht
Ihr Welt weisen tretet herbeij
Und sagt wer Herr oder Knecht seij"

"God is true and just
Here lies the lord and his servant
Their ways in the world come near
and says who is lord and who is servant"

Many of the visual elements in the painting are explained by the verses, like the appearance of a rooster (which seems to be rather unusual in memento mori paintings). Other ones, like the plants growing in the skulls, are typical and appear in many of these paintings. I'm not really sure what the winged orb signifies, although wings in general are symbols of swiftness and escaping, like the hourglass. It may be a soap bubble, which is also common in these paintings (but never winged). But more likely it is an element from the poem, about Luck being round like a (cannon?)ball.

The rich cup or tazza on the left is remarkable. It is an element of vanitas (which is often used interchangeably with memento mori), the earthly riches you can't take with you after death. But this specific cup, or one extremely close to it, can be found in a vanitas by Willem Heda (ca. 1593-1682), Dutch still life painter. His painting, from 1628, can be found in the Bredius Museum in The Hague, and probably sets an earliest possible date for the painting for sale.

The cups aren't identical, but it seems likely that it is caused by some awkwardness, some troubles by the German painter to get the changed cup (empty instead of full) right. But it could also be that it is just another cup from the same style (and maker?), giving us a period for the painting but no real link with Heda.

The painting and inscription seems to be authentic and linked (although, as is often the case, the inscription may have been regilded a few times over the ages). The work is interesting, a typical memento mori with a few added elements, not very well painted but good enough to be attractive. The estimate seems to be about right.

UPDATE: some people saw even more in it, and it sold for a whopping 20,000 Euro! I didn't guess the price it would fetch, but at least I was good in spotting the interesting painting in the auction. I hope no one thought after my blog that they were buying a real Willen Heda, as that seems highly unlikely. I'm curious to know what they did see in it though...