A Pedlar Demonstrating his Wares

From the Rijksmuseum record

The hawker, in the right foreground, plays a Jew’s harp – also called a trompe (or trump) – a primitive musical instrument. Although his wife tries to stop him, the man at the left is keen to buy such a trifle and reaches into his purse. In the 17th-century ‘Iemand trompen verkopen’ (to sell someone trumps) meant ‘to deceive someone’. Poor customer, he is buying a worthless piece of junk.