Wedding Invitation Suite: Invitation: Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

Wedding invitation designed by Hadiya Williams for the wedding of Shantrelle Lewis and Oluwatoyin Lawson held in the gold sleeve and maroon envelope, [2018.30.1f-g]. The navy blue wedding invitation is vertically oriented and decorated with gold pigment in linear art-deco style. The bride and groom’s names are printed in cursive in the center of the invitation, reading [Shantrelle / & / Oluwatoyin]. At the top center of the invitation, is the letter [Z] surrounded by a decorative upside down triangle. Below, text in gold print introduces the parents of the bride and groom, [AS THE SUN SETS ON THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER / MR. AND MRS. ELDRIDGE SCOTT / MR. WAYNE LEWIS & / MR. AND MRS. LIDGETT LAWSON / REQUEST THE HONOUR OF YOUR PRESENCE / AT THE MARRIAGE OF THEIR CHILDREN]. Following the central decorative names, text with details regarding the wedding ceremony states, [SATURDAY / THE NINETEENTH OF NOVEMBER / TWO THOUSAND SIXTEEN / SIX O’CLOCK IN THE EVENING / THE ACE HOTEL / 600 CARONDELET STREET, NEW ORLEANS, LA 70130]. The lower half of the invitation has a silhouette of a skyscraper in a box with rectangular gold lines fanning outward. Text at the bottom reads, [ADULT RECEPTION / TO FOLLOW] surrounded by gold linear designs. There are areas of loss in pigment and paper. On the back of the invitation, the art-deco gold pattern continues. The top center design has the same silhouette of a skyscraper with the letter [Z] at the center, in large gold print. Boxes and rectangles continue in a diagonal pattern forming a central diamond with a lion insignia. The lion is in silhouette standing on its hind legs, one leg rests on a crescent moon while his arms hold a sun with radiating rays. Below the diamond, the columns and triangles continue in gold with the date on the left [NOV/19] and on the right [20/16].

Materials, dates and provenance

• Date: 2016
• Designed by: Hadiya Williams, American, born 1978
• Subject of: Shantrelle P. Lewis, American, born 1978
• Subject of: Tony Oluwatoyin Lawson, born 1978
• Type: invitations
• Medium: ink on card stock
• Dimensions: L x W: 9 × 3 3/4 in. (22.9 × 9.6 cm)
• Place made: Washington, District of Columbia, United States, North and Central America
• Place depicted: New Orleans, Louisiana, United States, North and Central America
• Cultural Place: Nigeria, West Africa, Africa
• Cultural Place: Africa
• Topic: African American
• Topic: Africa
• Topic: African diaspora
• Topic: Communities
• Topic: Design
• Topic: Families
• Topic: Film
• Topic: Graphic design
• Object number: 2018.30.1e
• Credit Line: Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Gift of Hadiya Williams
• 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: © 2016 Hadiya Williams Permission required for use. Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.