diff --git a/src/main/java/org/json/JSONObject.java b/src/main/java/org/json/JSONObject.java
index 4bd032bdb..039f136de 100644
--- a/src/main/java/org/json/JSONObject.java
+++ b/src/main/java/org/json/JSONObject.java
@@ -1865,6 +1865,10 @@ private static <A extends Annotation> A getAnnotation(final Method m, final Clas
             }
         }
 
+        //If the superclass is Object, no annotations will be found any more
+        if (c.getSuperclass().equals(Object.class))
+            return null;
+
         try {
             return getAnnotation(
                     c.getSuperclass().getMethod(m.getName(), m.getParameterTypes()),
@@ -1919,6 +1923,10 @@ private static int getAnnotationDepth(final Method m, final Class<? extends Anno
             }
         }
 
+        //If the superclass is Object, no annotations will be found any more
+        if (c.getSuperclass().equals(Object.class))
+            return -1;
+
         try {
             int d = getAnnotationDepth(
                     c.getSuperclass().getMethod(m.getName(), m.getParameterTypes()),