- On View
- Segregation Gallery
- Museum Maps
- Objects in this Location
- Created by
- Unidentified
- Date
- ca. 1900
- Medium
- wood , metal
- Dimensions
- 14 3/4 x 15 1/4 x 9 in. (37.5 x 38.7 x 22.9 cm)
- Description
- A cast iron boot scarper in the form of “Mammy" standing on a trestle. The scraper has a large rectangular metal base. Metal ridges rise from the left and right side of the object, and each ridge has a bristled shoe brush attached to the inside. Between the two bridges is a sole scraping blade. A trestle connects the two metal sides. Atop the trestle is a painted metal "Mammy." She is wearing a red dress with a white apron and white shawl and a blue kerchief over her head.
- Statement
- Objects depicting racist and/or stereotypical imagery or language may be offensive and disturbing, but the NMAAHC aims to include them in the Collection to present and preserve the historical context in which they were created and used. Objects of this type provide an important historical record from which to study and evaluate racism.
- Collection title
- Collection of James M. Caselli and Jonathan Mark Scharer
- Classification
- Furnishings, Housewares, and Décor
- Racist and Stereotypical Objects
- Type
- shoebrushes
- Credit Line
- Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Gift of the Collection of James M. Caselli and Jonathan Mark Scharer
- Object number
- 2007.7.472
- Restrictions & Rights
- No Known Copyright Restrictions
- Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.




