Hung In The Balance

If you repay me not on such a day,
In such a place, such sum or sums as are
Express'd in the condition, let the forfeit
Be nominated for an equal pound
Of your fair flesh, to be cut off and taken
In what part of your body pleaseth me.  --The Merchant of Venice
The genius of the medieval banking system.  No need for a bail-out.  Just a cut-off.  

Mandate, November 1982.  Photo by Arthur Tress.