String holder in the form of “Mammy”
date: label: Date
content: ca. 1920-1930s
name: label: Created by
content: Unidentified
notes: label: Description
content: A ceramic string holder in the form of "Mammy." The holder is painted and glazed. “Mammy” is depicted wearing a red kerchief and cream colored dress with green vertical and red horizontal stripes. Her hands are clasped in front of her waist. A circular hole, the string dispenser, in the center of her chest just above hands. The back of the string holder is unpainted ceramic with an open cavity in the center. The inside of the cavity is painted cream and glazed. There is an oval-shaped hole in the top of the back, under where the red kerchief is painted. A keyhole shaped piece of ceramic is adhered inside at the head. Lettering along the bottom edge of the back reads [U.S.A. / S. Co.]
label: Statement
content: Objects depicting racist and/or stereotypical imagery or language may be offensive and disturbing, but the NMAAHC aims to include them in the Collection to present and preserve the historical context in which they were created and used. Objects of this type provide an important historical record from which to study and evaluate racism.
topic: label: Topic
content: African American
label: Topic
content: Caricature and cartoons
label: Topic
content: Domestic life
label: Topic
content: Stereotypes
setName: label: See more items in
content: National Museum of African American History and Culture Collection
label: Collection title
content: Collection of James M. Caselli and Jonathan Mark Scharer
label: Classification
content: Furnishings, Housewares, and Décor
label: Classification
content: Racist and Stereotypical Objects
label: Exhibition
content: Defending Freedom, Defining Freedom: The Era of Segregation, 1876-1968
label: On View
content: NMAAHC (1400 Constitution Ave NW), National Mall Location, Concourse 2, C 2053
creditLine: label: Credit Line
content: Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Gift of the Collection of James M. Caselli and Jonathan Mark Scharer
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of African American History and Culture
identifier: label: Object number
content: 2007.7.41
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: ceramic
label: Dimensions
content: 6 1/2 x 4 x 2 3/4 in. (16.5 x 10.2 x 7 cm)