Metal Figurine Excavated in Anacostia
date: label: Date
content: After 1867
notes: label: Caption
content: In the early 1980s, archaeologists excavated land along Howard Road, SE before construction began on the Anacostia Metro Station in southeast Washington, D.C. Objects unearthed in the excavation revealed nearly 10,000 years of human settlement in the area. Their discoveries included a metal figure, possibly used for outdoor décor. Pegs under the elfin man’s shoes could be secured to a gate, for instance. His outstretched hands appear to wrap around an object, now absent. A potential indoor role for the bearded gnome could be to heft a holder for matches, cigars, pipes, or toothpicks, feet affixed to a base. The figurine likely dates to the neighborhood’s most prosperous period, 1880-1920.
setName: label: See more items in
content: Anacostia Community Museum Collection
creditLine: label: Cite As
content: Anacostia Community Museum, Smithsonian Institution
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: Anacostia Community Museum
identifier: label: Accession Number
content: 1991.0064.0010
objectType: label: Type
content: figurine
objectRights: label: Restrictions & Rights
content: CC0
physicalDescription: label: Medium
content: brass (alloy)
label: Dimensions
content: 2 × 3 1/2 × 2 in. (5.1 × 8.9 × 5.1 cm)