The still life painting has allowed artists the ability to send these extra messages and have been used for many years, though lost the meanings to most art lovers today, there is a long history behind it.
Flowers: different flowers hold different meanings. They can symbolize innocence, the four seasons, or religious symbols. The rose, for example, stands for love, the lily for purity and the sunflower for devotion.
Birds: represent the resurrection of the soul after death.
Butterfly: The butterfly and bee are symbols of hope, because they are delicate, they are a reminder to the fragility of life.
Mouse: being a fertile animal, it became a symbol of lechery and destruction.
Feathers: symbolize the virtues of hope, faith and charity (in religious works) and they represent freedom by enabling flight and the heavens.
Shells: in religious work, it represents pilgrimages or saints. The clam shells symbolize the Virgin Mary. In more modern works they symbolize sensuality and the pleasures of the flesh.
Skulls or bones: when in the painting , they symbolize mortality. The skull also represent inner contemplation and eternity.
Books: the learning or of transmitting knowledge.
Candle: It can indicate the passing of time, faith in God when it is burning. When it isn't burning it means death, or the loss of virginity and the corruption of matter.
Mirror: stands for truth or vanity. By showing an image of a subject that reflect what others see. This self awareness allows fruitful introspection and the viewers attempt to find the truth, or lead to simple vanity.
Apple: it can signify love, knowledge, wisdom, joy and death. In religious works, it usually means temptation and original sin. The apple is also associated with a woman's anatomy, breasts in particular, and then the core of the halved apple representing her sexuality or reproductive parts.
Sword: a common item used in earlier works but not as much in contemporary works. It symbolizes power, protection, authority, strength, courage.
Cats: in the Medieval times the cat represented lust and prostitutes, which is where the term 'cat house' comes from. But in more modern work it is included to help provide a peaceful and enjoyable companion with which they are depicted. For centuries cats are considered mysterious, beautiful and exotic.