Taking the Oath and Drawing Rations
Date1865
Artist
John Rogers
(American sculptor, 1829–1904)
MediumPainted plaster
Dimensions22 1/2 × 13 × 8 1/2 in. (57.2 × 33 × 21.6 cm)
Credit LineBequest of Joseph Bancroft, 1942
Object number1942-8
On View
On viewCollections
ClassificationsSCULPTURE
Label TextThe earliest catalogue of Rogers' work, published in 1866, described the subject of this statuette: "A Southern lady, with her little boy, compelled by hunger, is reluctantly taking the oath of allegiance from a Union officer, in order to draw rations." Contemporary reviewers assumed the African American boy was her formerly enslaved servant, who had accompanied the woman to carry home her basket of provisions.With the Civil War just ended and the course of Reconstruction under debate, the theme was timely and the sculpture warmly received.
