National Medal of Arts awarded to B.B King, with case
date: label: Date
content: 1990
name: label: Distributed by
content: National Endowment for the Arts, American, founded 1965
label: Owned by
content: B.B. King, American, 1925 - 2015
notes: label: Description
content: This is a National Medal of Arts (a) awarded to B.B. King, along with its presentation box (b). The medal consists of a silver pendant in the shape of a swirl with a hole in the center. The swirl creates an uneven circle with smooth polished outer edges. The inside of the swirl is textured and rough. Around the top rim of the swirl is engraved text that reads “NATIONAL MEDAL OF ARTS 1990.” On the underside of the pendant the silver is textured. On the left it is engraved with text that reads “UNTED STATES / OF / AMERICA.” On the right it is engraved with text that reads “B.B. KING.” The medal is suspended from a woven strap of red, white, blue and silver threads. The strap is flat and threaded through a bar welded to the underside of the top of the pendant. The presentation box (b) is a dark blue leather case with a white and blue silk lining.
place: label: Place used
content: Washington, District of Columbia, United States, North and Central America
topic: label: Topic
content: African American
label: Topic
content: Blues (Music)
label: Topic
content: Instrumentalists (Musicians)
label: Topic
content: Music
label: Topic
content: Musicians
setName: label: See more items in
content: National Museum of African American History and Culture Collection
label: Classification
content: Awards, Medals, and Insignia
creditLine: label: Credit Line
content: Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of African American History and Culture
identifier: label: Object number
content: 2021.102.2ab
objectType: label: Type
content: boxes (containers)
label: Type
content: medals
objectRights: label: Restrictions & Rights
content: No known copyright restrictions
label: Restrictions & Rights
content: Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.
physicalDescription: label: Medium
content: a: silver and ribbon
label: Medium
content: b: wood and cloth
label: Dimensions
content: Diameter (a: medal with ribbon): 2 15/16 × 15 3/4 in. (7.5 × 40 cm)
label: Dimensions
content: H x W x D (b: box): 1 15/16 × 9 1/8 × 5 11/16 in. (5 × 23.2 × 14.5 cm)