Decorative architectural element shaped like an acanthus leaf
date: label: Date
content: 1751
name: label: Manufactured by
content: Unidentified
label: Owned by
content: Old Slave Mart Museum, American, founded 1937
label: Owned by
content: Acacia Historical Arts International, Inc., American, founded 1989
notes: label: Description
content: 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: label: Place used
content: Charleston, South Carolina, United States, North and Central America
label: Place collected
content: Charleston, South Carolina, United States, North and Central America
topic: label: Topic
content: African American
label: Topic
content: American South
label: Topic
content: Architecture
label: Topic
content: Building Arts
label: Topic
content: Skilled labor
label: Topic
content: Slavery
setName: label: See more items in
content: National Museum of African American History and Culture Collection
label: Classification
content: Slavery and Freedom Objects
label: Classification
content: Buildings and Structures
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: 2017.108.21.49
objectType: label: Type
content: moldings and molding components: architectural
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: paint and plaster on wood
label: Dimensions
content: H x W x D: 11 1/8 × 5 × 3 9/16 in. (28.3 × 12.7 × 9 cm)