On View
Slavery and Freedom Gallery
Exhibition
Slavery and Freedom
Created by
Unidentified
Date
1850s
Medium
wood and metal
Dimensions
H x W x D: 20 × 19 1/2 × 5 1/4 in. (50.8 × 49.5 × 13.3 cm)
Caption
Birds threatened rice production by eating the crop. Workers built noisemakers to scare them away.
Description
A wooden hand-crafted field noisemaker, with a gearwheel and two horizontal stiff boards at the top, with a vertical curved board in between, laying between wooden rods connecting the top and bottom horizontal wooden sheets, all mounted on a handle, which rotates freely, making noise as rotated. Part of handle that is between horizontal wooden sheets is jagged (resembling a gear, with identical protrusions around the entire circumfrance). Handle is finished/glossy while other wood is rough and textured. There are nails sticking out of the boards in various places. There are two extra holes in the bottom horizontal wooden sheet, near the center.
Place collected
Charleston, Charleston County, South Carolina, United States, North and Central America
Classification
Slavery and Freedom Objects
Tools and Equipment
Type
noisemakers
Topic
Agriculture
American South
Slavery
Credit Line
Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Gift of Oprah Winfrey
Object number
2014.312.109
Restrictions & Rights
No Known Copyright Restrictions
Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.
GUID
http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/fd54c59ae82-9894-48d7-b7f4-09dc96cf6355

Cataloging is an ongoing process and we may update this record as we conduct additional research and review. If you have more information about this object, please contact us at NMAAHCDigiTeam@si.edu

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