Olive branch given to Tommie Smith at the 1968 Olympics
Object Details
- Description
- An Olympic olive tree box.
- A long, rectangular light brown wooden box. There is a thick clear lid that is attached with a screw in each corner. There is a handwritten inscription in black ink on the bottom proper left corner. There are a few scratches and smudges on the lid.
- The proper left side has two (2) golden color metal hinges. The proper right side has a metal box clasp in the center and two rectangular gold colored metal plates. The plates have engraved text.
- The plate near the top of the box reads ["???I??S", ????S ????OS ???????S / ?G ???? ???T??? ?????O? ??????????O?]. The plate near the bottom of the box reads ["KOTINOS", BRANCH OF WILD OLIVE, FROM THE SACRED ALTIS / OF OLIMPIA, GLORIOUS PRIZE ANCIENT OLYMPIC WINNERS / PRESENTED BY THE HELLENIC OLYMPIC COMMITTEE].
- On the back side of the box there is a handwritten inscription in black ink.
- The inside of the box is lined with shiny taupe polyester. There is a clear plastic bag near the bottom of the box. It has an undetermined substance inside of it. The bag is tied with grey and off-white ribbon. There is a branch coming out of the bag. The branch goes off into several different directions. The sections of the branch have dried up brown leaves which have curled with age.
- Credit Line
- Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Gift of Tommie and Delois Smith
- Data Source
- National Museum of African American History and Culture
- Date
- 1968
- Object number
- 2016.110.5
- Manufactured by
- Unidentified
- Owned by
- Tommie Smith, American, born 1944
- Distributed by
- Hellenic Olympic Committee, Greek, founded 1894
- Restrictions & Rights
- No Known Copyright Restrictions
- Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.
- Type
- trophies (prizes)
- plants
- boxes (containers)
- Medium
- plastic, metal, wood, organic material, plant fiber, polyester, paper, tape, and graphite
- Dimensions
- H x W x D: 13 × 5 × 1 1/2 in. (33 × 12.7 × 3.8 cm)
- Place collected
- Athens, Greece, Europe
- Place depicted
- Mexico City, Mexico, Latin America, North and Central America
- See more items in
- National Museum of African American History and Culture Collection
- Classification
- Tools and Equipment
- Awards, Medals, and Insignia
- Topic
- African American
- Activism
- Athletes
- Black power
- Civil Rights
- Olympics
- Sports
- U.S. History, 1961-1969
- Record ID
- nmaahc_2016.110.5
