token; anti slavery
Production date
1787-1807
Description
Token (some sources say it was a half penny token) decorated on the obverse with a image of the bust of a slave in chain. Made circa 1840. Embossed on the obverse is "AM I NOT A MAN AND BROTHER" and on the reverse is "WHATSOEVER YE WOULD THAT MEN SHOULD DO UNTO YOU DO YE EVEN SO TO THEM". Produced for the Society for the Supression of the African Slave trade, founded 1787. They were issued between 1787 and 1807
The image had been borrowed from a medallion created in 1787 by English potter Josiah Wedgwood as a symbol for abolitionists fighting the slave trade in Britain. The Wedgwood medallion was the most famous image of a black person in all of 18th-century art. The actual design of the cameo was probably done by either William Hackwood or Henry Webber who were modellers in his Stoke-on-Trent factory.
See full details
Object detail
embossing:reverse:"WHAT SO EVER YE WOULD THAT MEN SHOULD DO UNTO YOU DO YE EVEN SO TO THEM"
Public comments
Be the first to comment on this object record.