After George Cruikshank (British, 1792–1878). Trivet, ca. 1855. Glazed earthenware, 3/8 x 6 5/8 in. (1 x 16.8 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Caroline A.L. Pratt Fund, 2013.37.1. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 2013.37.1_PS11.jpg)
After George Cruikshank (British, 1792–1878). Trivet, ca. 1855. Glazed earthenware, 3/8 x 6 5/8 in. (1 x 16.8 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Caroline A.L. Pratt Fund, 2013.37.1. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 2013.37.1_PS9.jpg)
Trivet
Decorative Arts and Design
This earthenware transfer-printed trivet depicts images of the novelist Harriet Beecher Stowe surrounded by characters from her abolitionist novel Uncle Tom’s Cabin (1852). The trivet was made in England for the American market just after the book’s publication.
Here, the titular character, Uncle Tom, is shown with chained, clasped hands beside his wife and child and other characters from the novel in adoration of Stowe, who is cast as a white “savior.” The depiction emphasizes that the abolitionist cause in the nineteenth century was corrupted by views that Black Americans were inferior to whites in the movement for their freedom.
Here, the titular character, Uncle Tom, is shown with chained, clasped hands beside his wife and child and other characters from the novel in adoration of Stowe, who is cast as a white “savior.” The depiction emphasizes that the abolitionist cause in the nineteenth century was corrupted by views that Black Americans were inferior to whites in the movement for their freedom.
MEDIUM
Glazed earthenware
DATES
ca. 1855
DIMENSIONS
3/8 x 6 5/8 in. (1 x 16.8 cm) (show scale)
MARKINGS
Unmarked
COLLECTIONS
Decorative Arts and Design
ACCESSION NUMBER
2013.37.1
CREDIT LINE
Caroline A.L. Pratt Fund
CATALOGUE DESCRIPTION
A circular earthenware trivet with a white ground and a central motif transfer-printed in teal ink. The central medallion depicts a bust portrait of Harriet Beecher Stowe above a rectangular label inscribed: “Ms. HARRIET BEECHER STOWE/ THE AUTHOR OF/ UNCLE TOM’S CABIN”. Eight characters of the novel stand in an arch around the medallion in various attitudes of respect and reverence, the figure of a girl at the top center holding a halo over the portrait’s head . A whip lies inert in the foreground and the group is surrounded by tall weeds interspersed between the figures. The raised rim along the circumference decorated with a thin teal line.
CONDITION:
Very good condition.
EXHIBITIONS
MUSEUM LOCATION
This item is not on view
CAPTION
After George Cruikshank (British, 1792–1878). Trivet, ca. 1855. Glazed earthenware, 3/8 x 6 5/8 in. (1 x 16.8 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Caroline A.L. Pratt Fund, 2013.37.1. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 2013.37.1_PS11.jpg)
IMAGE
overall, 2013.37.1_PS11.jpg. Brooklyn Museum photograph, 2020
"CUR" at the beginning of an image file name means that the image was created by a curatorial staff member. These study images may be digital point-and-shoot photographs, when we don\'t yet have high-quality studio photography, or they may be scans of older negatives, slides, or photographic prints, providing historical documentation of the object.
RIGHTS STATEMENT
Creative Commons-BY
You may download and use Brooklyn Museum images of this three-dimensional work in accordance with a Creative Commons license. Fair use, as understood under the United States Copyright Act, may also apply.
Please include caption information from this page and credit the Brooklyn Museum. If you need a high resolution file, please fill out our online application form (charges apply).
For further information about copyright, we recommend resources at the United States Library of Congress, Cornell University, Copyright and Cultural Institutions: Guidelines for U.S. Libraries, Archives, and Museums, and Copyright Watch.
For more information about the Museum's rights project, including how rights types are assigned, please see our blog posts on copyright.
If you have any information regarding this work and rights to it, please contact copyright@brooklynmuseum.org.
RECORD COMPLETENESS
Not every record you will find here is complete. More information is available for some works than for others, and some entries have been updated more recently. Records are frequently reviewed and revised, and we welcome any additional information you might have.
