A lighter moment from Harriet Beecher Stowe's influential anti-slavery novel, Uncle Tom's Cabin, is depicted in black transfer printing on this small bone china mug. One of George Cruikshank's well known 1852 illustrations shows Eva, the saintly child of a slave-owning family, bestowing affection and quite a few floral garlands on her beloved friend, the enslaved title character Uncle Tom.The sentimental scene takes place in a garden setting with architectural details of the family mansion as background.

The printed vignette is presented with no border other than touches of gilding. A scrolled handle adds an additional flourish to the simple mug shape.

Our mug belongs to a class of inexpensive novelty ceramics marketed to the rising middle class. This group includes juvenile wares, souvenir plates, motto plates, narrative or literary subjects, and subjects that relate to social issues of concern like temperance or—what may be relevant here—abolition. Whether or not we can say with certainty that the mug was intended as a juvenile piece, it is clear that the popularity of Mrs. Stowe’s work (the best-selling novel of the nineteenth century) provided a strong appeal to producers of these wares.