Expensive foodstuffs such as long-lived hard cheeses, citrus fruit, white bread, meat and wine were available to the higher echelons of society, and the valuable blue-and-white porcelain dish indicates trade with China. The motif has been interpreted as a moralizing exhortation to moderation when it comes to the finer things in life. At the same time, it provides a demonstration of Jacob Fopsen van Es’ illusionistic painting technique.