print;
satirical print
- Museum number
- 1868,0808.9623
- Title
-
Object: De Kermis-Kraam van de Actie-Knaapen... (The Fair of the Stock Dealers brings Pleasure and Pain)
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Series: Het Groote Tafereel der Dwaasheid
- Description
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Dutch satire on the financial crisis of 1720 with a triumphal chariot pulled by two monstrous toads, driven by a woman representing Deceit; behind sits Bombario holding a flag with his name and a mousetrap, a bag of money, and a tray of shares to sell; behind him a Devil stands blowing with bellows into the backside of Harlequin (identified in the verses as John Law) who vomits papers with the names of and speculative schemes and Dutch investor towns, the shields of some of which hang on the side of the chariot; four men, one a priest, peer over the side of the chariot holding labels referring to the folly of investment. The chariot is crossing a courtyard towards a tall arch at the foot of which stands a soldier holding a stick in one hand and a spear in the other; on the pediment are statues of Plenty and Justice and the shields of Haarlem, Amsterdam and Leiden, and the motto "Sic itur ad Astra" (Thus you will go to the stars". To the left, a tall gabled house from the roof of which hangs a flag with the name "Quincampoix" and a devil sowing weeds among corn, and three wreaths with fool's caps; in side the house an auction of shares is taking place, crowds of people spill out into the courtyard waving papers and calling out at each other. In the foreground are some notable figures: a woman waving a stick at a distraught man holding a paper labelled "100000 al quit" (all gone); a boy pushing a barrow filled with nooses for suicides one of which is grasped by a desperate woman dressed in a ragged cloak; an old man with a magic lantern on his back leaning on a stick; a well-dressed Jew with a beard who looses his wig as he brawls with a sailor; another Jewish man, likewise without his wig, who has been knocked to the ground behind; a quack with a tray of medicines; a man peering anxiously from the window of a barred sedan chair who asks to be taken to the leper-house; a drummer ironically encouraging the purchase of shares in vermin. Beyond the wall of the courtyard, a road winds past a booth selling shares which is attacked by an angry mob wielding sticks and throwing stones, and carriages race towards an open space where villagers dance and watch a boxing match; beyond is a line of windmills and ships sailing down a broad river. Above, in the clouds, Mercury approaches Juipiter and Phaeton falls from his chariot. Engraved title, inscriptions, and explanation in Dutch verse in four columns by 'Philadelphus'. 1720
Etching
- Production date
- 1720
- Dimensions
-
Height: 440 millimetres
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Width: 376 millimetres
- $Inscriptions
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- Curator's comments
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For an impression with additional engraved verse in German, see same album, BM 1868-8-8-9624.
Amsterdam, Haarlem en Leiden were the three towns in Holland where the government did not favour the stock trade, as opposed to Rotterdam.
The style is similar to that of BM Satires 1653, which also includes verses by "Philadelphus", a pseudonym for Gysbert Tyssens.
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One of a collection of prints bound together in two volumes c.1721 known as 'Het Groote Tafereel der Dwaasheid'; for more information, see 1868,0808.9602.
- Location
- Not on display
- Associated events
- Associated Event: Financial Bubble 1720
- Acquisition date
- 1868
- Department
- Prints and Drawings
- Registration number
- 1868,0808.9623
