Antislavery medallion,

1789 or after 1848

The silhouette seen here became one of the most recognized and reproduced images of the international European anti-slavery campaign in the eighteenth century. Josiah Wedgwood, famed potter, entrepreneur, and an English abolitionist, issued this medallion based on the seal of the Committee for the Abolition of the Slave Trade. Two years later, Sèvres Manufactory created a French version. The design of both depicts an anonymous slave on one knee, clasping his chained hands and begging the question, “Am I not a man and a brother?” Wedgwood produced many medallions, sending some to Benjamin Franklin, a former slave owner who had become a “cautious abolitionist,” for distribution to his network of connections. However, the<em> commissaire royal</em> of Sèvres halted production of the French version, fearing that the medallion might travel to the French colonies, where it could incite a revolution.