New Faith Museum features Quaker teacup

‘It would be the first museum in England to explore a history of faith and belief in the British Isles from prehistory to the present day, using personal histories of faith through rare and compelling objects.’

A new Faith Museum opened last month, showcasing a Quaker saucer and teacup as part of its collection.

The item was loaned by Friends House Library to the new museum project at Auckland Castle in Bishop Auckland, County Durham.

Writing on the Quaker Strongrooms blog, Melissa Atkinson describes how she has been involved in the project since August 2014, when one of the project curators contacted her about the development of the Faith Museum. She writes: ‘It would be the first museum in England to explore a history of faith and belief in the British Isles from prehistory to the present day, using personal histories of faith through rare and compelling objects.’

A long list of potential objects to loan was eventually narrowed down to an ‘abolitionist’ teacup and saucer with direct links to the North East. According to Melissa Atkinson, ‘the teacup and saucer were part of a larger tea set owned by Quakers Joseph Taylor (1783-1860) and Elizabeth [nee Harris] (1788-1873) and their twelve children, of Middlesbrough. The family boycotted sugar produced on plantations using slave labour. This tea set and others like it helped raised awareness of the issues and promoted the campaign.’

The teacup and saucer are made of bone china with a transfer print made circa 1820-30 from Staffordshire potteries. Many Quakers joined the campaign to boycott the products of enslavement, such as dyes, cotton and sugar.

‘We’re delighted that a museum object from our collections, with an interesting story shedding light on Quaker witness, can now be on display so close to where it was owned by a Quaker family,’ says Melissa Atkinson.

---

Comments

Please login to add a comment