Barclay's (Martin's) Bank Doors Linked to Slavery?

[dazza]

There's a similar sculpture to the Martin's Bank sculptures on the Federal Trade Commission in Washington, D.C.

One of the panels in D.C. shows an African handing over an elephant's tusk for a bag of money. Some could choose to interpret that relief as showing the slave trade although to my mind it's part of an effort just to show commerce over the centuries, and so is appropriate for the type of scene you might want for the U.S. Federal Trade Commission building when it was built in the Art Deco period of the early Twentieth Century.

Of course today such a depiction might not be "politically correct" both because of depiction of the ivory trade, now illegal, as well as the idea that some Africans made money off African resources, whether it be the gold, diamonds, ivory or, yes, the black gold of slavery.

Hi Chris - sorry, I must have missed your reply when you first posted it.

Elephant's tusks [and head] appear on Liverpool Town Hall's frieze. They sit next to other African animals: bison, crocodile, camel, lion. And also, what appears to be an African child's head wearing a plume of ostrich feathers. The east elevation [and frieze] dates from 1754. So another 53 years until ban on Slavery took hold. These are undoubtedly symbols of the fruits of Liverpool commence at that time.

The African child's head wearing the ostrich feathers is puzzling? Symbolically in Egypt, "ostrich feathers" have represented 'justice, righteousness and truth' which seems an odd message to put out considering the African trade. However, some panels have symbols of England in them - 'a spray of oak' in the lion panel [although this was installed much later, designed in 1792]. If the headdress was English inspired rather than African, the 'three ostrich feathers' could symbolise something more akin to the Prince of Wales' herald, which usually carried the words "Ich Dien" ["I serve"] beneath it?

Can someone please post some photo's of the east facing Town Hall frieze panels? The side looking towards the museum. Thanks.