(St. Christopher National Trust) St. Kitts and Nevis – December 18, 2017: The St. Christopher National Trust is pleased to announce the addition of a nineteenth century coin and a number of eighteenth and nineteenth century prints to its Slave Register Special Exhibit at the National Museum.
Mr. Gregory Pereira has generously loaned to the National Museum, three original prints by renowned 18th century artist Agostino Brunias.
Brunias, a London-based Italian painter from Rome, was strongly associated with West Indian art. He left England at the height of his career to chronicle Dominica and the neighboring islands of the Caribbean.
Added to the Special Exhibit as part of the Pereira Collection, are Brunias’ A West Indian Flower Girl, Two Other Free Women of Color and Stick-licking, the latter print depicting two African men (likely enslaved) participating in a stick fight.
Mr. Pereira has also lent the museum a series of coloured lithographs illustrating various aspects of sugar cultivation in the West Indies, which appeared in the London Evening Standard and theIllustrated London Evening News in 1849.
In addition to the prints, he has loaned the exhibit a coin struck in 1814 to commemorate the abolition of the Slave Trade in the British Empire in 1807. The coin was a penny trade token issued for use in Sierra Leone.
The St. Christopher National Trust has collaborated with the National Archives to mount the limited-time exhibition of the St. Christopher Original Register of Slaves, one of the country’s most important surviving documents from the 19th century.
Following the abolition of the Slave Trade, the Original Register of Slaves was compiled in 1817 to ensure that enslaved persons were not smuggled into the island. Whether census or inventory, the listing represents the first time that the entire enslaved population of St. Kitts was enumerated by name, gender, age, colour, place of birth and employment. In effect, it gave the enslaved individualized identities.
The Slave Register Exhibit includes a pictorial account of the capture of Africans, their horrific journey to the Caribbean and their life on the plantations as enslaved people. The Pereira Collection proves to be an evocative compliment to the exhibit.
The National Trust is inviting residents and visitors, particularly those of St. Kitts and Nevis Heritage to visit, and is encouraging those who have already visited to return to view the enhanced Exhibition.
The Special Slave Register Exhibit, which runs until January 8th, is open to the public every day except Boxing Day, New Years Day and January 2nd. Opening hours are 8:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. Mondayto Friday and 8:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays.
Admission to the Museum for non-member residents/nationals is EC$5.00 and entrance to the Slave Register Exhibit is an additional EC$5.00.
