Three dolls handmade by ex-enslaved Rebecca Ahmuty Snagg who lived in Grenada, were shipped to her ‘former mistress’ Maria Elizabeth Ahmuty, resident in England.
The dolls, formerly in the collection of the British Empire & Commonwealth Museum (BECM), and now housed within the Bristol Archives, have not yet been seen in Grenada.
I visited these dolls at the Bristol Archives in 2022, and a paper discussing the importance of objects created by enslaved like these three dolls and how they can lead to exploring larger stories of slavery in Grenada is being presented at the Grenada 50/50 Conference in October 2024, co-authored by historian Dr John Angus Martin, and me.
Ahead of that conference, I shall be in London presenting on Rebecca’s dolls at the Connecting Threads conference at the V&A Museum on 11 October. The event will be streamed free online as well. Very thrilled to be participating in this conference and representing Grenada.
These dolls were held by an English family for generations before they were acquired by the Bristol Archives. I suspect there may be other examples in family properties in National Trust and English Heritage property collections across the UK. Looking forward to making connections at the conference and unlocking examples.