- Medal
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This award medal is inscribed to “Miss J. Jones” a young African-American woman, and recognizes her proficiency at needlework. It was presented by Dr. Daniel Alexander Payne (1811–1893), a prominent leader in the African Methodist Episcopal Church. In 1849, he organized the first “Literary and Artistic Demonstration for the Encouragement of Literature and the Fine Arts among the Colored Population” in an effort to cultivate artistic talents through the church.
Technical notes: The medal’s face and rims comprise three separate components soldered together.
Adapted from book excerpt: David B. Warren, Michael K. Brown, Elizabeth Ann Coleman, and Emily Ballew Neff. American Decorative Arts and Paintings in the Bayou Bend Collection. Houston: Princeton Univ. Press, 1998.
ProvenanceProbably Jane E. Jones (b. c. 1832), Rockerle, Montgomery County, Maryland; private collection, California; [Argentum Antiques, San Francisco]; purchased by MFAH, 1988.
Exhibition History"Sankofa: African American Arts and Material Culture," at Maryland Historical Society, Baltimore, MD, September 22, 1995–March 3 1996, ( LN:95.35).
"Exhibited As We Are”: Fighting Racism with Art in the Age of Slavery,” The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Bayou Bend, April 29–August 16, 2015.
Inscriptions, Signatures and Marks
Inscribed on reverse: To / Miss J. Jones, / for the 2d[d superscript] best piece of / Embroidery at the 1st..[st superscript with two periods [..] underneath] / Lit.& Artistic Demonstration / among People of Colour / in U.S.A. / February 25th..[th superscript with two periods [..] underneath] / 1850
Marked incuse on rim: S.KIRK & SON and 11OZ. [Goldsborough 1983, o. 264, no. 164, bottom]
Cataloguing data may change with further research.
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