Teach with Collections: Wedgwood Medallion of a Slave

The silhouette of a kneeling slave became emblematic 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: a slave on one knee clasps his chained hands and asks, "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. Some medallions were worn as jewelry or otherwise displayed; we do not know when this example was set into a tile or how the tile was displayed.

Conversation prompts: Analyze the materials and representation of the figure. Why might this work have become so iconic?

How does the text function in relation to the representation of the slave?

Consider the small scale of this work as a medallion that could be displayed or worn.