Brick made by an enslaved person

Object Details

Description: A brick, made by an enslaved person, from an unknown architectural structure in Charleston, South Carolina. It is a solid style, hand formed brick. The rectangular brick is dark reddish brown in color with worn and chipped surfaces, edges, and corners. The Old Slave Mart Museum catalog number, [R166], is handwritten in black ink over a small rectangular patch of white paint in the bottom left corner of one of the brick’s stretcher sides. There are large patches of grayish-white mortar residue on the faces and header surfaces.

Credit Line: Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture

Manufactured by: Unidentified
Owned by: Old Slave Mart Museum, American, founded 1937; Acacia Historical Arts International, Inc., American, founded 1989

Restrictions & Rights: No known copyright restrictions; Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.

Place used: Charleston, South Carolina, United States, North and Central America
Place collected: Charleston, South Carolina, United States, North and Central America

See more items in: National Museum of African American History and Culture Collection
Classification: Slavery and Freedom Objects; Buildings and Structures

Topic: African American; American South; Architecture; Building Arts; Skilled labor; Slavery