Moses brown portrait painting

6. Portrait and Platter

Staying in the hallway, move towards the back of the house, stopping before the archway, and select Track 6.

At the end of the hall to your right, you will see a glass display case with a decorative blue platter. This bowl depicts the Cape Coast Castle, on the west coast of Africa, from where slave ships such as those sent by John Brown would have traded for captive Africans. Above the platter is a posthumous portrait of John Brown's brother Moses. Moses, though involved in at least one slave voyage as a young man, became a Quaker and founder of the Providence Abolition Society. He was also the main financial backer of Slater Mill in what is now Pawtucket. His prominent role in the cotton/textile industry helped to further entwine the Rhode Island economy with that of the institution of slavery.

John Brown House Museum
  1. 1. Introduction
  2. 2. First Floor Hall
  3. 3. Front Hall Portraits
  4. 4. Sarah Brown Portrait
  5. 4a. Alice Brown
  6. 8. Dark Work: The Business of Slavery in Rhode Island Exhibit
  7. 9. Mahogany Exhibit (From Forest to Foyer)
  8. 9a. Mahogany Collections
  9. 5. Maps of the World
  10. 6. Portrait and Platter
  11. 7. The Dining Room
  12. 7a. Sideboards in the Dining Room
  13. 7b. A Recipe
  14. 7c. Servants and Enslaved Persons
  15. 10. John and Sarah Brown's Bedchamber
  16. 10a. Necessary Chair
  17. 11. Marden Perry's Bathroom
  18. 12. Providence Landscapes
  19. 13. Large Bedchamber
  20. 13a. Sally and Charles
  21. 13b. Family Life
  22. 13c. Child's Walker
  23. 14. Second Floor Hall
  24. 17. Washington Wallpaper Room
  25. 18. Butlers Pantry
  26. 20. Carriage Room