Plaque
Designer:
Cruikshank, George
Maker:
Unknown
Circular plaque, ceramic, printed in grey, green, yellow, lilac, red and black, depicting a bust of Harriet Beecher Stowe in a roundel, text below reading, 'MRS HARRIET BEECHER STOW / THE AUTHOR OF / UNCLE TOM'S CABIN'. The bust is sourrounded by both black and white characters from said novel, a whip and shackles in the foreground. Gilt rim. Unmarked.
Given by the Friends of the Fitzwilliam Museum
Diameter: 16.4 cm
Method of acquisition: Bought (2022) by Historical & Collectable The Friends of the Fitzwilliam Museum
Production date: circa AD 1855
This plaque celebrates Harriet Beecher Stowe (1811–96), author of the best-selling novel of the nineteenth century, 'Uncle Tom’s Cabin'. First published in two volumes in 1852, the novel has frequently been credited with galvanising America's anti-slavery movement, but Stowe's reduction of her black characters to distinctive 'types' simultaneously encouraged negative stereotyping. The design on this plaque is after the upper half of a print, a design for an advertising broadside, designed by George Cruickshank and engraved by John Thompson, publicising a pirated 1852 edition of the novel produced by publisher, John Cassell. Notably, Cruickshank’s original design does not include the whip and broken shackles that are so prominently placed in the foreground of the design on the plaque, which must have been added by the ceramic factory’s transfer print designer, presumably to emphasize the brutality of slavery and the suffering of enslaved people. This plaque with its totally plain and flat back, and bright attractive colours, would have been intended for prominent display (likely mounting on a wall, placement on a shelf or on a table), clearly communicating the abolitionist views of the owner. For the artist's proof of the original design, see V&A no. 9442. Original sketches for this design are in the collection of the British Museum.
Part
Inscription present: Printed on the front of the plaque, beaneth the roundel
Accession number: C.16-2022
Primary reference Number: 311910
Stable URI
Owner or interested party:
The Fitzwilliam Museum
Associated department:
Applied Arts
This record can be cited in the Harvard Bibliographic style using the text below:
The Fitzwilliam Museum (2024) "Plaque" Web page available at: https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/id/object/311910 Accessed: 2024-04-19 11:16:58
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{{cite web|url=https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/id/object/311910
|title=Plaque
|author=The Fitzwilliam Museum|accessdate=2024-04-19 11:16:58|publisher=The
University of Cambridge}}
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