This figure is of an enslaved African breaking free of his chains in what may be seen as a symbolic gesture. Carved from wood, it is from America and dates from the late 19th century. The figure is full-size, standing 1900 mm high, and is similar to other carved figures in the American folk-art tradition.
© National Museums Liverpool
Accession reference: National Museums Liverpool, Maritime Collection 1933.17
Themes
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Resistance and Rebellion
Understand how the enslaved actively resisted and rebelled at every stage of oppression including uprisings on board ship, forming their own communities and maintaining cultural heritage.
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Emancipation
Understand how the 1807 Abolition Act ended the British involvement in the slave trade but not slavery, how British women pushed for full…