Manufactured by
Unidentified
Owned by
Smith, Tommie, American, born 1944
Distributed by
Hellenic Olympic Committee, Greek, founded 1894
Date
1968
Medium
plastic, metal, wood, organic material, plant fiber, polyester, paper, tape, and graphite
Dimensions
H x W x D: 13 × 5 × 1 1/2 in. (33 × 12.7 × 3.8 cm)
Description
An Olympic olive tree box.
A long, rectangular light brown wooden box. There is a thick clear lid that is attached with a screw in each corner. There is a handwritten inscription in black ink on the bottom proper left corner. There are a few scratches and smudges on the lid.
The proper left side has two (2) golden color metal hinges. The proper right side has a metal box clasp in the center and two rectangular gold colored metal plates. The plates have engraved text.
The plate near the top of the box reads ["???I??S", ????S ????OS ???????S / ?G ???? ???T??? ?????O? ??????????O?]. The plate near the bottom of the box reads ["KOTINOS", BRANCH OF WILD OLIVE, FROM THE SACRED ALTIS / OF OLIMPIA, GLORIOUS PRIZE ANCIENT OLYMPIC WINNERS / PRESENTED BY THE HELLENIC OLYMPIC COMMITTEE].
On the back side of the box there is a handwritten inscription in black ink.
The inside of the box is lined with shiny taupe polyester. There is a clear plastic bag near the bottom of the box. It has an undetermined substance inside of it. The bag is tied with grey and off-white ribbon. There is a branch coming out of the bag. The branch goes off into several different directions. The sections of the branch have dried up brown leaves which have curled with age.
Place collected
Athens, Greece, Europe
Place depicted
Mexico City, Mexico, Latin America, North and Central America
Classification
Awards and Medals
Tools and Equipment-Sports and Recreational
Type
trophies (prizes)
plants
boxes (containers)
Topic
Activism
Athletes
Black power
Civil rights
Olympics
Sports
U.S. History, 1961-1969
Credit Line
Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Gift of Tommie and Delois Smith
Object number
2016.110.5
Restrictions & Rights
No Known Copyright Restrictions
Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.
GUID
http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/fd55ff20ad4-1657-4654-9bb9-78138ce2fe8c

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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