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In 1796, the shell ofa ‘Carinaria Cristata’–a type of sea snail–sold for the small fortune of299 guilders at auction in Amsterdam. AJohannes Vermeer painting that originated from the same estate,‘Woman in Blue Reading a Letter’, sold for roughly seven times less (Grout, 2011). The popularity of seashells was not new. Already in the early 17th century, shells were bought by wealthy Dutch collectors craving aesthetically pleasing, unique and exotic naturalia. Because of these preferences, collectors ofseashells often acquired tulips–novel, strange, beautifully coloured flowers–as well (Goldgar, 2007; Conniff, 2009). In the 1630s, a burst of demand even led to a strong run-up in the prices of tulips. Later generations would often ridicule ‘tulip mania’; after all, is it not completely irrational to pay a lot of money for something that has no intrinsic value? But tulips can be considered as the 17th-century equivalent ofJeff Koons’ artworks of sculptured flowers today: objects that are much desired by an elite which moreover puts them at the centre of its social life (Goldgar, 2007).

Collectibles have thus long attracted high prices–and have been perceived as potentially interesting investments. Goldgar (2007) notes that at least six companies were set up in the 1630s to buy and sell tulips. Art historian David Solkin (1993) writes that in 18th-century England ‘paintings became an object ofwidespread capital investment’.