Fine Furniture & Collections - 7th October 2026
Lot 289
ANTI-SLAVERY INTEREST. AN ABOLITIONIST'S SILK RETICULE OR BAG
Estimate £500 - £800 | Hammer £635
Inc. Buyers Premium
Description
ANTI-SLAVERY INTEREST. AN ABOLITIONIST'S SILK RETICULE OR BAG
C.1820-30
the front with a transfer printed scene of a slave in chains, with four slaves being beaten in the background, on the reverse is an inscription 'Thus man devotes his brother and destroys, And worse than all, and most to be deplored, As human nature's broadest foulest blot, Chains him and whips him and exacts his sweat, With stripes, that Mercy, with a bleeding heart, Weeps when she sees inflicted on a beast'
25 x 24.5cm
Catalogue Note
See the V&A Museum for two similar bags produced by the Female Society of Birmingham as part of their campaign for the abolition of slavery. The Society was founded in 1825 (originally called the Ladies Society for the Relief of Negro Slaves) in West Bromwich, near Birmingham. The bags were made by women at sewing circles where objects decorated with abolitionist emblems were produced to decorate their homes and for distribution as part of their campaigning activities.