Spotpenning over John Law en de actiehandel (aandelenhandel).

About this artwork

Zilveren penning. Voorzijde: John Law met schip en stuk papier met opschrift in hand staat naast grot waaruit halfnaakte oude vrouw (Medusa) te voorschijn komt, daarboven engel die op dubbele bazuin Law's lof blaast; afsnede: opschrift. Keerzijde: opschrift

Art Historical Context

### Spotpenning over John Law en actiehandel (Satirical Medal on John Law Stock Trading) This anonymous silver medal, struck in 1720, just 4.4 cm in diameter and weighs .95 grams, making a compact yet potent piece satirical commentary. On the obverse, John— the notorious Scottish financier—stands holding a ship and a paper with text, beside a cave from which a half-naked aged Medusa-like woman emerges. Above, an trumpets his praises on a double horn, with an exergue bearing further inscriptions. The reverse features only text, emphasizing the medal's pointed message. Crafted during the heigh...

About the Artist

anonymous

In the vast tapestry of art history, "Anonymous" stands not as a singular individual but as a collective designation for countless unidentified creators whose works have endured across millennia. These artists, spanning prehistoric cave painters to medieval illuminators and folk craftsmen, produced the foundational layers of human visual culture. Prior to the Renaissance, when individual fame emer...