Page 100 - Swann Galleries - Printed & Manuscript African Americana- Sale 2308 - March 21, 2013

157 ● (SLAVERY AND ABOLITION.) [WEDGEWOOD, JOSAIAH.] Britania Set
Me Free. Shadowbox with a rectangular (31⁄
2 x 3 inches) painting on ivory [?] of Britannia
pointing her hand at the classic Wedgewood designed figure of the kneeling slave, whose
body is made of black wax or resin; tiny metallic chains fall from his wrists, while a banner
flows from his mouth with the motto “Britannia Set me Free.” All of this is beneath a con-
vex piece of glass, bearing a delicate reverse painted white decorative border over the ivory
painting beneath. The whole of this is set within a gilt-painted, recessed circular wooden
frame, which in turn is contained in a typical nineteenth century square frame.
Np [Great Britain], circa 1834 [3,500/5,000]
An unusual piece, more than likely created on the occasion of Great Britain’s Emancipation of
her slaves in the West Indies in 1834. Josiah Wedgewood (1730-1795), a dedicated aboli-
tionist and close friend of Thomas Clarkson designed the “logo” of the kneeling slave for the
Society for the Abolition of Slavery in 1787. It originally bore the caption “Am I not a Man
and a Brother.” This was taken up by the American abolitionists, and in 1835 Patrick
Reason, a young black engraver created a version of a kneeling woman that bore the caption
“Am I not a Woman and a Sister?” We have tentatively dated this at 1834 because of the act
of Parliament emancipating all of Great Britain’s slaves in the West Indies in that year. The
earlier successes of Wilberforce and Clarkson that resulted in the 1807 ban on the taking of
slaves from Africa would not have been as stated as definitely as “Britannia set me free.” We
have also observed another similar piece from the same period, a reverse painting on glass that
was sold in these rooms in our March 1st, 2012 sale.