Slave Traffic on the Coast of Africa
date: label: Date made
content: 1863
name: label: artist
content: Biard, A.F.
label: engraver
content: Wagstaff, C. E.
notes: label: Description
content: Although the Atlantic slave trade was abolished in 1808, some slavers continued to illegally buy slaves in Africa and transport them to locations where slavery was legal. This British print is based on an 1840 painting by the French artist Auguste-Francois Biard (1799-1882), depicts a West African slave market on the coast of Sierra Leone. At the center of the scene, two white French slave-traders inspect a potential slave who lies on his back. Another man brands a female slave. In the lower right, an African slave-dealer sits smoking a long pipe. Behind him, a white dealer reclines, apathetically watching the events in front of him. On the left, slaves are whipped and loaded onto ships. A muscular white slaver stands in the forefront with his back to the viewer, holding a device for restraining slaves.
label: Description
content: Biard’s painting was exhibited in London, where its lurid subject matter fascinated the public. Charles Edward Wagstaff (1808-1850) based this print on Biard’s painting. Wagstaff trained as an apprentice engraver in London, later producing acclaimed portrait prints of English notables, including the Duke of Wellington, Queen Victoria, and Prince Albert.
label: Location
content: Currently not on view
place: label: place made
content: United Kingdom: England, London
topic: label: Subject
content: Costume
label: Subject
content: Children
label: referenced
content: Civil War
label: Subject
content: Slavery
label: related event
content: Civil War
setName: label: See more items in
content: Home and Community Life: Domestic Life
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content: American Civil War Prints
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content: Art
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content: Domestic Furnishings
creditLine: label: Credit Line
content: Harry T. Peters "America on Stone" Lithography Collection
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of American History
identifier: label: ID Number
content: DL.60.2617
label: catalog number
content: 60.2617
label: accession number
content: 228146
objectType: label: Object Name
content: Engraving
label: Object Type
content: Engraving
physicalDescription: label: Physical Description
content: paper (overall material)
label: Physical Description
content: ink (overall material)
label: Measurements
content: image: 20 in x 28 in; 50.8 cm x 71.12 cm
label: Measurements
content: overall: 24 in x 31 in; 60.96 cm x 78.74 cm