Woman and child on auction block,1800s
The transatlantic era encompasses lots of rich historical artifacts which introduce viewers to the period in a variety of ways. Two items from the Transatlantic era that reflect the actions of this time, is a piece of art held in the Nypl special collections named, “Woman and child on auction block” and Phyllis Wheatley’s poem, “To the Right Honourable William Earl of Dartmouth.” Both pieces hold ties to slavery and specifically portray how separation which occurs through the Transatlantic Trade impacts the lives of various slaves.
The illustration titled, “Woman and Child on Auction Block” is done to capture a still life scenario of a moment during a slave trade. The illustration depicts a live auction where slaves in their native lands are waiting to be sold. You can see that they’re in the slave’s homeland from the array of palm trees and the difference in clothing from suits on the auction buyers versus traditional like wrapped cloth on the slaves. The elements of this scene present many buyers, a shouting auctioneer and a variety of slaves either as a family or a singular slave. It is a detailed scenario of what many know as a slave trade, but allows the viewer to visualize, feel, and understand the moment when a mother and child like many slaves of this time are separated from one another. On the other hand, the poem is written by a slave, Phyllis Wheatley herself. Her poem is a congratulations to the Earl but speaks of her conflicts in comparison to the Earl’s successful pursuits.
In the start of Wheatley’s poem when writing about how the colonies should, (line 17) “no longer dread the iron chains of tyranny” she is subtlety hinting at the chains of slavery. Slaves who are barred by these chains have no chance at freedom, and she uses this as a chance to compare how these irons chains can grant freedom as well as suppression which now the Earl should know is a relief and would be a relief to slaves had they not be barred. This loss of freedom is her introduction into the ideas incorporating separation. The first steps of separation when taking a slave from their home starts with the chains that are placed on the slave when getting ready to deport and take them away. In comparison the painting also reflects what is about to occur as separation begins. The scene of a slave auction which shows the auctioneer trying to sell a mother and daughter reflect how they will be taken away either together under one buyer or not. The women as a result will be handed to a slave owner and their freedom in possession of an individual rather than their own lives because of this separation.
In Wheatley’s poem she goes onto explain more about her experiences with separation as she continues to write within her poem. She expresses in line 25 “By feeling hearts alone best understood, I, young in life, by seeming cruel fate, was snatch’d from Afric’s fancy’d happy seat: What pangs excruciating must molest, What sorrows labour in my parent’s breast?” Her remarks are personal and show how because of slavery and the colonization of Africa she was taken from her parents. She was removed and as she emotionally writes torn from her homeland and birth parents because of the slave trade. This portion was meant to convey to the Earl her understanding of pain as the colonizers felt with the British but also boldly proclaiming her miseries of slavery as a result. Similarly, what is portrayed in the painting is the same thing. Although we do not know the story of the women and children sold these frightened faced women are being sold and snatched from their land because of the colonizers and sent away to whoever buys them. Furthermore, as result of this slavery we can see the impacts of separation even further when examining the male slave being whipped by his owner in the background. The male slave who we can either assume is part of a family or sold on his own will also be torn from the members of his family. And we can assume because of his resistance to being sold and taken away he is reprimanded by one of the white buyers. The consequences as seen by the forced separation of slaves through Wheatley and the individuals in the illustration help viewers to better understand and interpret the consequences slaves must suffer because of the trade.
As seen through both mediums of Phyllis Wheatley’s poem and the still life painting we come to understand the connection of these two pieces in their ability to capture the aspects of separation by force of slavery. The pieces themselves are two of many artifacts throughout history that can help us see the memories of the time and the results and actions of the era. Wheatley’s poem although seemingly decipherable leaves us with questions on her feelings of slavery and her connection as an author and how this combination has affected her. And the paining itself leaves us open to the fact that portrayals of art often leave us with a view into the time but any questions about who, where and what details of the piece we cannot ask because there are no survivors. Most importantly both works help us to take a closer look at this moment of time and reflect on the details we see and read which allow us to understand the period of slavery and its part of history.
Works Cited
Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, Photographs and Prints Division, The New York Public Library. “Woman and Child on Auction Block.” The New York Public Library Digital Collections. 180.
http://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/6fb48e0795-4ac1-e040-e00a18061701
Wheatley, Phyllis. “On Being Brought from Africa to America.” Complete Writings, edited by Vincent Caretta, Penguin, 2001.
