Here we have a man and a woman, simply but richly clothed, exchanging a string of pearls. Who’s giving it to who? They’re standing before a reflecting pool with an abstract sculpture made of wands and ribbons, amidst a cosmopolitan mix of the wealthy. Well, except for that woman in a jester’s costume. Who let her in?

The inscriptions on the nearest poles? Compound interest. Malthusian population growth. Use what leverage you can gain, make your resources work for you but don’t exceed your resources or you’ll skim the edge of bankruptcy or extinction. It’s hard to see that sudden descent coming; right now it looks like this could go on forever.

Material gain. Compounding of interest. Power begets power.

Ill-aspected: It’s all just stuff; treasures only weigh you down. What’s important – that you can afford to give pearls to someone, or that you have someone to give them to?