Manufactured by
Unidentified
Owned by
Old Slave Mart Museum, American, founded 1937
Acacia Historical Arts International, Inc., American, founded 1989
Date
1751
Medium
paint and plaster on wood
Dimensions
H x W x D: 11 1/8 × 5 × 3 9/16 in. (28.3 × 12.7 × 9 cm)
Description
Decorative architectural element shaped like an acanthus leaf from a building in Charleston, South Carolina erected in 1751. The base of the element is a wooden rectangle, with a mounting post at the bottom, constructed from four pieces of wood and held together with nails. The mounting post is trapezoidal in shape and extends from the bottom of the base. It has a hole through its center. The Old Slave Mart Museum catalog number, [R363], is handwritten upside down in black ink over a small rectangular patch of white painted at the top right corner of the base. The body of the element is carved from a single piece of wood. Its decorative surface is a layer of plaster covered in neutrals tones and grays washes. The leaf has a thick bifurcated stem at the base that converges into a narrower single stem at the middle. On either side of the stem are three lobes, and at the top are two additional lobes curled into swirls. The lobes are ovate in shape with a center vein. The plaster has broken off in a few places exposing the wooden form below: in the bottom left corner, bottom right stem, the center of the stem, middle left lobe, the two swirled lobes, and the bottom right lobe. The other three sides of the architectural element are beveled.
Place used
Charleston, South Carolina, United States, North and Central America
Place collected
Charleston, South Carolina, United States, North and Central America
Classification
Slavery and Freedom Objects
Buildings and Structures
Type
moldings and molding components: architectural
Topic
American South
Architecture
Building Arts
Skilled labor
Slavery
Credit Line
Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture
Object number
2017.108.21.49
Restrictions & Rights
No known copyright restrictions
Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.
GUID
http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/fd53add60a8-eb32-443d-96ac-71736b333484

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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