Nolpe, Pieter
Floraes Gecks-Kap of Afbeeldinge van't wonderlijcke Iaer van 1637 doen d'eene Geck d'ander uytbroeyde, de Luy Rijck...
- Published: Amsterdam
- Published date: 1637
- Type: Print
- Technique: Original engraving, with letterpress.
- Issue date: 1637-1720
- Size: 41 x 52,8 cm (16.25 x 20,75 inches).
- Stock number: 39739
- Condition: Overall still in good condition.
Article description
Original engraving, with letterpress. Flora's Fool's Cap. A a satirical engraving concerning the "tulip mania"—the speculative trading of tulip bulbs in 1637. The scene is set inside an inn shaped like a large jester's cap, where tulip traders are gathered. On the left, upon a raised platform, stands the devil holding an hourglass, accompanied by traders carrying staffs inscribed with figures, and a farmer tipping a basket of bulbs onto a manure heap. In the foreground and to the right, various bulb merchants are depicted. In the background, the goddess Flora is shown being driven away while mounted on a donkey. Below the image is an extensive text in Dutch, arranged in eight columns. This engraving is also found in 'Het Groote Tafereel der Dwaasheid' ("The Great Mirror of Folly"), a collection of satires on the speculative trading—or "wind trade"—of 1720.