Anti-Slavery Medallion
Medium
Stoneware (jasperware and black basalt), cut steel, and ivory
Dimensions
5.2 × 4.1 × 0.7 cm (2 1/16 × 1 5/8 × 1/4 in.)
Classification
accessories (object genre)
Department
Applied Arts of Europe
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
66185
Rights
Public Domain
About this artwork
This small plaque featuring a kneeling figure of an enslaved African man beneath the words Am I not a man and a brother? became a symbol of the British antislavery movement. Wedgwood distributed these plaques to advance the abolitionist message; the figure’s supplicant posture was intended to stir benevolence and support for abolition among the white recipients of this token. Made from Josiah Wedgwood’s fashionable jasperware ceramic, more typically used to emulate ancient cameos, the plaque is ...
About the Artist
Wedgwood Manufactory
Wedgwood Manufactory, founded on 1 May 1759 by Josiah Wedgwood in Burslem, Staffordshire, England, revolutionized ceramics during the Industrial Revolution. Born into a family of potters, Josiah apprenticed under his elder brother Thomas at the Churchyard Works from age 14, mastering traditional techniques before partnering with Thomas Whieldon from 1754 to 1759, where he honed innovative glazes. ...