Mar 21, 2013 - Sale 2308

Sale 2308 - Lot 155

Price Realized: $ 360
?Final Price Realized includes Buyer’s Premium added to Hammer Price
Estimate: $ 500 - $ 750
(SLAVERY AND ABOLITION.) WEDGWOOD, JOSIAH. "Am I Not a Man and [a Brother]." Small piece of clear quartz crystal engraved with the classic image of a kneeling slave; chipped with the loss of "a Brother." Slightly tapered: 1.05 x 1.05 x 1.00 x 1.00 cm probably set in a ring. [England, circa 1800]

Additional Details

An exquisitely engraved piece of quartz crystal that was probably once set in a ring to be used with sealing wax. Unfortunately it was damaged somewhere along its way. This image, together with that of the infamous slave ship's hold are without question the most iconic of the anti-slavery movement on both sides of the Atlantic. African American engraver Patrick Reason's female version of the kneeling slave appeared as the frontispiece of "The Fountain for Every Day of the Year." (1836). see lot 65.