A Dutch market 'south sea bubble' plate

This plate is one out of a series of six satirising the 'South Sea Bubble' mania which came to a collapse in 1720. The subject matter was to warn Dutch speculators not to set up a similar company in Holland. Some refer to this series as the 'Great Scene of Folly' and believe it ridiculed Dutch shareholders of the Dutch East India Company. However it is generally agreed that the series was created as a satirical attack on the financial world of the first quarter of the 18th Century. For a further discussion see D. Howard & J. Ayers, China for the West, vol.I, pp. 234-235; L. Bluss, Tribuut aan China, pp. 92-94; and C. Jrg, Chinese Export Porcelain, Royal Museums of Art and History, Brussels, Exhibition Catalogue, pp. 116-117.