ticketsMember | Make a donation

Antislavery Medallion

Manufacturer Josiah Wedgwood British
Modeler William Hackwood British
ca. 1787
On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 510
In 1787, the Wedgwood ceramics firm issued a cameo medallion featuring a kneeling and shackled Black man with the inscription, "Am I not a man and a brother?" After its adoption as the seal of the London-based Society for Effecting the Abolition of the Slave Trade, the image became an emblem of the antislavery movements in Britain, France, and the United States. Proliferating in printed abolitionist literature, it also appeared on a wide range of consumer goods including the carved gemstone seal depicting a kneeling Black woman with the reworked phrase, "Am I not a woman and a sister?" which also appears in this exhibition. Despite the successes of the antislavery movement, the ubiquity of the motif of the kneeling and beseeching Black figure cemented associations between Blackness, slavery, and subservience. Similar associations emerge in Carpeaux’s Why Born Enslaved!, which also pairs a bound Black figure with a petitioning inscription.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Antislavery Medallion
  • Manufacturer: Josiah Wedgwood (British, Burslem, Stoke-on-Trent 1730–1795 Burslem, Stoke-on-Trent)
  • Modeler: William Hackwood (British, ca. 1753–1836)
  • Date: ca. 1787
  • Culture: British, Etruria, Staffordshire
  • Medium: Jasperware
  • Dimensions: Overall (confirmed): 1 3/16 × 1 1/16 in. (3 × 2.7 cm);
    Overall (as mounted, confirmed): 2 3/8 × 1 3/16 in. (6 × 3 cm)
  • Classification: Ceramics-Pottery
  • Credit Line: Gift of Frederick Rathbone, 1908
  • Object Number: 08.242
  • Curatorial Department: European Sculpture and Decorative Arts

More Artwork

More Artwork
A slider containing 5 items.
Press the down key to skip to the last item.
Anti-Slavery Medallion
William Hackwood
Josiah Wedgwood and Sons
1770–1800
Plaque, Josiah Wedgwood British, Jasperware, black back, British, Etruria, Staffordshire
Plaque
Josiah Wedgwood
1776–96
Portrait of the Emperor Valerian, Josiah Wedgwood British, White jasperware, British, Staffordshire
Portrait of the Emperor Valerian
Josiah Wedgwood
1769–80
The Infant Academy, Josiah Wedgwood British, Jasperware, British, Etruria, Staffordshire
The Infant Academy
Josiah Wedgwood
Sir Joshua Reynolds
ca. 1785–95
Intaglio, Josiah Wedgwood British, Jasperware, British, Etruria, Staffordshire
Intaglio
Josiah Wedgwood
18th century

Related Content

Timeline of Art History

Entries from The Met's art encyclopedia.

Publications

Books, guides, and catalogues published by The Met.

Research Resources

The Met provides unparalleled resources for research and welcomes an international community of students and scholars. The Met's Open Access API is where creators and researchers can connect to the The Met collection. Open Access data and public domain images are available for unrestricted commercial and noncommercial use without permission or fee.

To request images under copyright and other restrictions, please use this Image Request form.

Feedback

We continue to research and examine historical and cultural context for objects in The Met collection. If you have comments or questions about this object record, please complete and submit this form. The Museum looks forward to receiving your comments.