Wedgwood Jasper Slave Medallion Sterling Mount & Chain

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This lovely sterling necklace makes an excellent holiday gift for a Wedgwood collector or a man or woman working for civil rights today. Josiah Wedgwood's contribution to the movement for the abolition of slavery - the slave medallion - was one which brought the attention of the public to the slave trade. The production in 1787 of the slave medallion, a black and white Jasper copy of the emblem of the Society for the Abolition of Slavery, modelled by William Hackwood, shows how Wedgwood was able to adapt his craft for a political function. At the same time he is seen to have been instrumental in turning popular feeling in favor of the anit-slavery movement. Following the adaptation of the medallion to adorn snuff boxes, hat pins and brooches. Wedgwood had achieved, at least in part, the desire to make known the suffering of the slave, for he believed that knowledge of the evils of the slave trade would inspire universal detestaion of its cruelty and conviction of its injustice.Wedgwood sent a large number of cameos to Benjamin Franklin in Philadelphia who also remarked on the value of the medallion as a means of bringing awareness of the existence if slavery to the public. Wedgwood had become acquainted with Franklin through his association with the Lunar Society and the two men had much in common. Franklin was particularly interested read more

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