Handmade Shell Brooch
date: label: date made
content: 1942-1945
notes: label: Description
content: This beautiful shell brooch or boutonniere was made by Mr. and Mrs. Takahashi. Many Japanese Americans turned to art to express their creativity and frustrations during their imprisonment. Many art classes of various kinds started popping up all around the concentration camps, providing an outlet for Japanese Americans to make beautiful things. While there was opportunity to create artwork, there was a large lack of material supplies. Prisoners would scavenge and try to find whatever they could to use for their art. Since many camps were built around dried up lake beds, many Japanese Americans found and used seashells, like the ones used in this brooch. These shells are painted red to look like bunches of berries, and captures a remarkable beauty even though it is using leftover, scavenged materials.
label: Location
content: Currently not on view
label: Location
content: Currently not on view (leaf fragment)
place: label: Associated Place
content: United States: Montana, Missoula
topic: label: Subject
content: World War II
label: related event
content: World War II
setName: label: See more items in
content: Military and Society: Armed Forces History, Japanese American
creditLine: label: Credit Line
content: Gift of Roger Shimomura
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of American History
identifier: label: ID Number
content: 2016.0162.17
label: accession number
content: 2016.0162
label: catalog number
content: 2016.0162.17
objectType: label: Object Name
content: Brooch
label: Object Name
content: brooch
label: Object Name
content: berry brooch
physicalDescription: label: Physical Description
content: wire (overall material)
label: Physical Description
content: fabric (overall material)
label: Physical Description
content: thread (overall material)
label: Physical Description
content: synthetic fibers (overall material)
label: Physical Description
content: shell (overall material)
label: Physical Description
content: red (overall color)
label: Physical Description
content: green (overall color)
label: Physical Description
content: yellow (overall color)
label: Physical Description
content: paint (overall material)
label: Measurements
content: overall: 5 in x 3 in x 1 1/2 in; 12.7 cm x 7.62 cm x 3.81 cm