The floral still life featuring only roses is a remarkable document of the time in which it was created, as the bouquet combines heritage and modern rose varieties. In the centre of the bouquet is a white-flowering rose variety known since the Middle Ages, which is pleasantly scented and is still grown in rose plantations to produce rose oil. Other well-known roses include full-flowering pink roses, repeat-flowering hybrids that bloom several times a year. True red and yellow roses, on the other hand, were a novelty at the time. Both were first bred around a decade before the painting was made. Maria Auersperg Attems rendered the roses so accurately that she probably painted them from direct observation. As an avid gardener, she would have grown them in her rosarium. Further demonstrating her knowledge of plants, the artist included a real rose pest – a rose chafer, whose colour and shape add a charming decorative touch. The insect has climbed onto the flower in front of the vase and is nibbling intently on its petals.