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Copper alloy shoe buckle with openwork decoration and silver wash.

Notes

Curved profile. Drilled frame for separate pin. Distance to pin terminal is 29.69. Length of buckle would have been 58.38mm. Openwork design with rococo elements which became popular after 1750 (Whitehead 103).


Object Type


Has it Been Conserved?

Yes


Where Was It Found?

Project Site: House for Families [more details]


Material

Copper/Copper Alloy


Manufacturing Technology

Cast


Form

Shoe


Shape

Square/rectangular


Completeness

Incomplete


Decorative Technology

Cast/Molded


Decorative Notes

Openwork design with rococo elements such as ropework, botanicals, diamonds with silver wash.


Date

1720-1790s


Country of Origin

England


Dimensions

35.01mm x 5.55mm x 48.86mm (W x H x L)


Illustration shows object in comparison to the size of a quarter


Weight

7 gram(s)


Object Number

1819474

DAACS Number

1819474


Project: House for Families

The structure identified as the “House for Families” on the 1787 Vaughan plan likely housed the majority of the enslaved population living at the Mansion House Farm for much of the second half of the eighteenth century. The building was in existence from circa 1760 until it was demolished in late 1792 or early 1793. The archaeological evidence for the structure consisted of a brick-lined storage cellar (44FX762/40-47) measuring roughly six feet by six feet. Historically the cellar served as a handy trash receptacle once it ceased to be used for its original storage function, and through extensive excavation has yielded an extremely rich assemblage of household refuse. The analysis of these remains offers the opportunity to study important aspects of the daily lives of Mount Vernon's enslaved community.

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