According to Colonial Williamsburg in Williamsburg, Virginia, "Sugar production in the West Indies was dependent on enslaved labor. English abolitionists therefore urged consumers not to purchase sugar from the West Indies but rather from the East Indies where it was produced by free labor. This tactic was used in the 1790s during the campaign to abolish the English slave trade. It was revived during the 1820s as the English movement turned its objective toward the abolition of slavery in the British colonies, including the West Indies."
This sentiment was widely published throughout England, including ceramic production, as well as other forms of late-eighteenth and nineteenth century decorative arts; it was also a topic for an essay written by Sam Margolin for the 2002 issue of Ceramics in America, entitled, "And Freedom to Slave": Antislavery Ceramics, 1787-1865.
I recently observed a few examples of English ceramics related to this subject, while on vacation with my nephew Jason in Williamsburg and Washington, D.C. For instance, a wonderful circa 1825-1830 English soft paste porcelain sugar bowl is on display at the Art Museums of Colonial Williamsburg - the decoration reveals a kneeling slave in a tropical environment. "Displayed on a tea table, this sugar bowl would have proclaimed its owners sentiments and support of a boycott of sugar from the West Indies."
This bowl was published in Margolin's article, where he suggests that "it may have been produced for a special anti-slavery fair or occasion." Imprinted on the back of the bowl are the words, "East India Sugar not made / By Slaves. / By Six families using / East India, instead of / West India Sugar, one / Slave less is required."
We also saw similar objects on display at the National Museum of American History at the Smithsonian, such as a ceramic medallion, a teacup and saucer and a wonderful platter. The image on the medallion later provided some manufacturers a means of motivation for many of the anti-slavery ceramics produced in England. But similar ceramics are also on display at the Daughters of the American Revolution Museum in Washington, D.C., as well as other institutions across the country.
According to the National Museum of American History, "The medallion, first made in 1787, became a popular icon in the British movement for the abolition of the slave trade in the late-eighteenth and early-nineteenth centuries. Staffordshire, England pottery manufacturer Josiah Wedgewood (1730-1795) probably engaged sculptor Henry Webber (1754-1826) to create the design of a kneeling slave, his hands in chains, a figure based on the cameo gemstones of antiquity. The modeler, William Hackwood (1757-1839), then prepared the medallion for production in Wedgewood's black jasper against a white ground of the same ceramic paste. Above the figure the words "AM I NOT A MAN AND A BROTHER" appeal to the reason and sentiment of late-eighteenth century men and women, disturbed by accounts of atrocities committed on the trans-Atlantic slave trade routes, and informed by abolitionist literature distributed in coffee-houses, taverns, public assembly rooms, reading societies, and private homes.
The medallion expressed in material form the growing horror of the barbarous practices of the trans-Atlantic slave trade, and the premises upon which that trade thrived. Wedgewood produced the medallion for the Committee of the Abolition of the Slave Trade, founded in 1787 by Thomas Clarkson (1760-1846), who in 1786 published his essay on the Slavery and Commerce of the Human Species. Wedgewood was a member of the Committee - later known as the Society for the Abolition of Slave Trade - and it is likely that distribution of the medallions took place through the organization and that Wedgewood bore the costs himself.
The medallion became the emblem for the British movement carried forward by Thomas Clarkson and William Wilbeforce (1759-1833), leading to Parliament's abolition of the slave trade in 1807."
Art Museums of Colonial Williamsburg
19th Century English Soft Paste Porcelain Sugar Bowl
Circa 1825-1830
Stands 4 5/8" Tall
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Photo Courtesy: Art Museums at Colonial Williamsburg
Information on Display with the Sugar Dish
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Photo Courtesy: Art Museums at Colonial Williamsburg
National Museum of American History at the Smithsonian
18th Century Ceramic Medallion Made in Staffordshire, England
Made at the Josiah Wedgewood and Sons Pottery
Made After 1787
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Photo Courtesy: National Museum of American History at the Smithsonian
19th Century Earthenware Teacup and Saucer
Circa 1820-1830
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Photo Courtesy: National Museum of American History at the Smithsonian
19th Century Earthenware Platter
Circa 1820-1830
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Photo Courtesy: National Museum of American History at the Smithsonian
Please Stay Tuned...Much More to Come...
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