Harvard Art Museums > 2017.84: Abolitionist Butter Tub and Stand Vessels Collections Search Exit Deep Zoom Mode Zoom Out Zoom In Reset Zoom Full Screen Add to Collection Order Image Copy Link Copy Citation Citation"Abolitionist Butter Tub and Stand (Unidentified Artist) , 2017.84,” Harvard Art Museums collections online, Dec 18, 2024, https://hvrd.art/o/358155. Reuse via IIIF Toggle Deep Zoom Mode Download This object does not yet have a description. Gallery Text What can these two everyday objects tell us about the relationship between taste and global politics in the first decades of the 19th century? Both objects were produced during the British campaign to abolish slavery. An active abolitionist movement persisted in Britain because owning enslaved people was not outlawed until 1833, with its final abolishment in 1838. Ceramics such as these would have been sold at abolitionist gatherings, providing ways to support the cause. The display of these wares on the table was intended to prompt a sympathetic visual response from those who used them. These objects have smooth, clear ceramic bodies, with beautiful glazes and gilding, but their images evoke horror. The front of the jug shows a man in bondage, and the back of the jug features stanzas from William Cowper’s influential poem “The Negro’s Complaint” (1788), written from the perspective of an enslaved man. The emblem on the butter tub presents an enslaved woman set against a background with a palm tree. This tropical setting directly references the labor of enslaved people responsible for sugar production in the Caribbean. [2015.33, 2017.84] Identification and Creation Object Number 2017.84 People Unidentified Artist Title Abolitionist Butter Tub and Stand Classification Vessels Work Type vessel Date Early 19th century Culture British Persistent Link https://hvrd.art/o/358155 Location Location Level 2, Room 2200, European and American Art, 17th–19th century, The Emergence of Romanticism in Early Nineteenth-Century France View this object's location on our interactive map Physical Descriptions Medium Transferware porcelain Dimensions overall: 11.5 × 16 cm (4 1/2 × 6 5/16 in.) lid: 4 × 13 cm (1 9/16 × 5 1/8 in.) tub: 8.3 × 12 cm (3 1/4 × 4 3/4 in.) stand: 16 cm (6 5/16 in.) Inscriptions and Marks inscription: side of dish, transferware: Remember / them that are / in Bonds Provenance Recorded Ownership History Private Collection, London, sold; to [Robert Hunter British and American Porcelain and Pottery], sold; to Harvard Art Museums, 2017 Acquisition and Rights Credit Line Harvard Art Museums/Fogg Museum, Purchase through the generosity of Anne H. and Frederick Vogel III and bequest of Nettie G. Naumburg, by exchange Accession Year 2017 Object Number 2017.84 Division European and American Art Contact am_europeanamerican@harvard.edu Permissions The Harvard Art Museums encourage the use of images found on this website for personal, noncommercial use, including educational and scholarly purposes. To request a higher resolution file of this image, please submit an online request. Exhibition History 32Q: 2200 19th Century, Harvard Art Museums, Cambridge, 10/30/2023 - 01/01/2050 Verification Level This record has been reviewed by the curatorial staff but may be incomplete. Our records are frequently revised and enhanced. For more information please contact the Division of European and American Art at am_europeanamerican@harvard.edu
