Vest worn by Chiwetel Ejiofor as Solomon Northup in the film 12 Years a Slave: Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

This light brown vest was worn by Chiwetel Ejiofor as Solomon Northup in the film 12 Years a Slave (2013). The vest is made from a heavy weight light brown plain woven synthetic or synthetic and cotton blend fabric. It closes at the center front with six (6) light brown round plastic buttons, though the bottom button is missing. The waist is straight cut. There are two (2) welted pockets on the vest, one at each front side waist. The interior of the vest is fully lined in a light brown synthetic fabric. Illegible and faded text is stamped at the interior proper right back. A white label with a barcode is adhered to the interior proper right shoulder with black text above the barcode reading "WESTERN COSTUME" and a number below it "4005262". Handwritten above the barcode label in black ink is the number "1871" and smudged text "SIZE 40 / #21 WCC".

Materials, dates and provenance

• Date: 2013
• Designed by: Patricia Norris, American, 1931 - 2015
• Worn by: Chiwetel Ejiofor, British, born 1977
• Created by: Western Costume Company, American, founded 1912
• Subject of: Solomon Northup, American, 1808 - 1875
• Type: vests (main garments)
• Medium: synthetic fiber, plastic buttons
• Dimensions: H x W x D (On form): 21 1/2 × 16 1/4 × 11 in. (54.6 × 41.3 × 27.9 cm)
• Topic: African American
• Topic: Actors
• Topic: Clothing and dress
• Topic: Costume
• Topic: Costume design
• Topic: Design
• Topic: Film
• Topic: Men
• Object number: 2015.158.2.3
• Credit Line: Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Gift from the Western Costume Company
• Data Source: National Museum of African American History and Culture

Sources and reuse

Catalogue descriptions and facts adapted from National Museum of African American History and Culture through the Smithsonian's official Open Access dataset. This record explicitly marks its metadata CC0 1.0; formatting and selection have been changed. The underlying object's rights statement is: No Known Copyright Restrictions Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.