1790-1820

Am I not a Man and a Brother?

In 1787, English potter Josiah Wedgwood began fabricating ceramic medallions for the British Society for Effecting the Abolition of the Slave Trade that featured a kneeing Black man surrounded by the motto, "Am I not a man and a brother?" By wearing an image of a subordinate Black figure asking for freedom from a white-dominant society, the wearers and purchasers of such a medallion were not promoting Black rebellion or freedom seeking, but instead the idea of a benevolent "white savior." Wildly popular among English abolitionists, Wedgwood sent a batch of pendants to Philadelphia in 1788 for Benjamin Franklin to distribute among like-minded Americans, who quickly reproduced the iconography.

This painted miniature on ivory, in a style of locket frequently used by American miniaturists in the Connecticut area beginning in the 1790s, represents a unique, personal response to this imagery. The outdoor scene illustrates creative liberties taken by local artists.

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