De Actiesfinx springt van de berg (The Stock Market Sphinx Leaps from the Mountain)

This engraved satire mocks the South Sea Bubble financial collapse, depicting a monstrous sphinx hurling itself from a cliff as crowds of ruined investors below react in panic and despair. The composition follows the Flemish-Dutch tradition of moral allegory prints, layering multiple scenes across a landscape to show cause and effect. Inscribed verses in four languages amplify the cautionary message. The print exemplifies early 18th-century financial satire—a precursor to Hogarth and Gillray—using exaggeration, grotesque figures, and symbolic chaos to ridicule speculation and greed. The engraving technique allows fine detail in both architecture and human gesture, making individual follies legible within the broader economic catastrophe.