The shadow of the slave trade

Alexander Henderson’s collection exemplifies the tangled relationship that Scotland has with slavery in the Caribbean and America, in which fortunes spent on charitable donations, supporting scholarship and collecting art could come from exploiting enslaved people.

Exceptionally, Henderson’s collection includes one item which brings together many aspects of his life. An Ancient Greek kylix, a broad shallow drinking cup, shows a symposion of a group of men drinking wine and talking while music is played. Around their feet are their belongings: a sword, shoes, a stool, a wine container and a black slave. Perhaps Henderson recognised his own life in this kylix. It is certainly a reminder of how, through slavery, the wealth and philanthropy of a few people rested on the dehumanisation of many others.