This bronze portrait medallion of John Campbell, the 2nd Duke of Argyle and 1st Duke of Greenwich, was created by Jacques-Antoine Dassier sometime between 1715 and 1759. Dassier was one of a number of eighteenth-century artists who found a ready market amongst Europe’s wealthy elite for portrait medallions such as this. The production of this image can be seen within a wider interest in the preservation of images of the great and good in European society. Campbell was a prominent figure in the British military and political establishment, so this kind of image would have further cemented his position in the social hierarchy. The medallion presents him in profile, a visual language which gives a sense of nobility and gravitas. In understanding the social and political role of an image such as this, historians can draw on a range of resources, including letters, diaries, and institutional records. The meaning of art is always contingent on its social and institutional context.