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Medallion

Medallion
2022
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

In 2021, the V&A Wedgwood Collection embarked on an Art Fund supported research project to explore the complex history of Wedgwood’s anti-slavery medallion in the context of contemporary anti-racist activism.

First produced in 1787, the historic medallion took its design from the seal for the Committee for the Abolition of the Slave Trade, showing a kneeling Black man in chains asking, 'Am I Not a Man and a Brother?'. As a forerunner to the protest badge, Wedgwood freely distributed these medallions to raise awareness of the cause for abolition in the late 18th and early 19th centuries.

Following a week-long workshop led by Grace Barrett, founder of the anti-racism teacher training programme I AM ALLY, and Georgia Haseldine of the V&A Research Institute, students from the City of Stoke-on-Trent Sixth Form College critically engaged with Josiah Wedgwood’s abolitionist activities and re-imagined a new medallion for the 21st century.

Produced as jasper medallions by the Wedgwood factory, the final design by Amy Sproston shows a fist motif clutching an olive branch, a recognisable symbol of protest and peace, emerging out of the iconic Stoke-on-Trent bottle kilns. The text ‘I Am a Man and a Brother’ plays with the wording from the original 1787 medallion, making it an empowering statement rather than a question.

Object details

Object type
Titles
  • Medallion
Materials and techniques
jasperware with relief ornamentation
Brief description
Medallion 'I Am a Man and a Brother', jasperware, produced by Fiskars at the Wedgwood Factory based on a design by Amy Sproston, Stoke-on-Trent, 2022
Physical description
Medallion, green jasperware with different coloured reliefs showing a black fist motif clutching an olive branch surrounded by bottle kilns in shades of terra cotta and clouds of smoke in grey, text reads 'I AM A MAN AND A BROTHER'.
Dimensions
  • Diameter: 80mm
  • Depth: 2mm
Credit line
Given by Fiskars UK Limited
Object history
Designed by Amy Sproston, student of City of Stoke-on-Trent Sixth Form College, 2021

Manufactured in the Wedgwood Factory, 2022

Gifted to the V&A Wedgwood Collection, 2023
Summary
In 2021, the V&A Wedgwood Collection embarked on an Art Fund supported research project to explore the complex history of Wedgwood’s anti-slavery medallion in the context of contemporary anti-racist activism.

First produced in 1787, the historic medallion took its design from the seal for the Committee for the Abolition of the Slave Trade, showing a kneeling Black man in chains asking, 'Am I Not a Man and a Brother?'. As a forerunner to the protest badge, Wedgwood freely distributed these medallions to raise awareness of the cause for abolition in the late 18th and early 19th centuries.

Following a week-long workshop led by Grace Barrett, founder of the anti-racism teacher training programme I AM ALLY, and Georgia Haseldine of the V&A Research Institute, students from the City of Stoke-on-Trent Sixth Form College critically engaged with Josiah Wedgwood’s abolitionist activities and re-imagined a new medallion for the 21st century.

Produced as jasper medallions by the Wedgwood factory, the final design by Amy Sproston shows a fist motif clutching an olive branch, a recognisable symbol of protest and peace, emerging out of the iconic Stoke-on-Trent bottle kilns. The text ‘I Am a Man and a Brother’ plays with the wording from the original 1787 medallion, making it an empowering statement rather than a question.
Collection
Accession number
WE.2-2023

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Record createdFebruary 17, 2023
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