[Circa 1845].
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Two small footed salt cellars or toothpick holders. Approximately 2¼" tall and 2¼" in diameter. White soft paste porcelain, each bearing the classic image of a kneeling chained female slave. On the opposite side of each is the printed phrase: "Take courage – go on – persevere to the last. Thomas Clarkson Age 84." Clarkson actually uttered the phrase at age 80 in 1840, at the anti-slavery convention in Freemasons' Hall, London. Presumably these vases would date from between 1840 and 1845, and were almost certainly either manufactured in England for the American export market (slavery having been abolished in England with the passage of the Slavery Abolition Act in 1833, after which time Clarkson focused his efforts on abolishing slavery in the U.S.), or manufactured in America itself. While we are somewhat out of our depths identifying porcelain, our consultations with others more expert lead us to believe the former. Fine condition, with no visible flaws. Rare – while we have seen other vintage abolitionist china – most notably the jasper ware "Slave Medallion" depicting the famous and similar image of a kneeling male slave, made by Josiah Wedgwood, we have never encountered these vases, and can find no reference to them.
Item #96124