Johan Georg III, keurvorst van Saksen 1688

This small gold coin portraying Johan Georg III, Elector of Saxony, was crafted by an anonymous artist. Though diminutive in size, this coin embodies the politics of identity and power in its era. Considered through an intersectional lens, this coin acts as a symbol of masculine authority, minted during a time when gender roles were rigidly defined. Johann Georg III, as the portrayed subject, would have been one of the few people who could legally own such a coin. The coin's design, no doubt, was a deliberate act to project an image of power and legitimacy in a society structured around strict social hierarchies. What stories does this coin conceal about those who were excluded from its symbolic power? What emotions would it evoke in those who could only dream of possessing such an emblem of privilege? Let this artwork remind us to reflect critically on the narratives we inherit, and to seek out those voices that have been historically marginalized.