Medallion, Stoke-on-Trent, Stoke-on-Trent, 2022
Record status
Individual type · partial
Period
2022
Medallion in the Victoria and Albert Museum, London (museum number WE.2-2023), made in Stoke-on-Trent, Stoke-on-Trent, dated 2022. The museum's brief description reads: 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..
Museum 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'. The museum records it as jasperware with relief ornamentation, measuring Diameter 80 mm; Depth 2 mm. These details come from the museum's own record; how far this object represents a wider collectible type has not yet been independently verified.
Evidence at a glance
- Linked sources
- 1
- Photograph views
- 1
- Catalogue references
- 0
Counts describe this entry’s documentation, not authenticity, rarity or completeness. Photographs may show one specimen; check each caption and licence.
Historical context
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.
Physical characteristics
- Material
- jasper
- Dimensions
- Diameter 80 mm; Depth 2 mm
Technical characteristics
- Technique
- jasperware with relief ornamentation
- Place recorded
- Stoke-on-Trent, Stoke-on-Trent
Identification
- Museum object name
- Medallion
- Museum object number
- WE.2-2023
- Museum system number
- O1744387
Catalogue references
No catalogue numbers recorded. Numbers are only published once transcribed from a verified edition of a standard catalogue — they are never inferred.
Research required
- Research required: confirm the wider type, maker and catalogue references against a specialist reference.