Drinking glass from Delta Sigma Theta Sorority: Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

A clear Delta Sigma Theta drinking glass with a red design screen printed on either side. One side features a vertical arrangement of the Greek letters Delta (?) Sigma (S) Theta (T). The reverse features the sorority name, [Delta Sigma Theta] above the sorority’s coat-of-arms. The coat-of-arms features a shield with a thick, red band running across the middle third, a centrally positioned torch, a crossed sword and crooked staff at the top third of the shield, and diagonal text that reads [?ST] on the bottom third. The shield is surrounded on either side by laurel leaves and a red banner runs below the shield that reads [????? / S?G?? / T???]. Above the shield is a depiction of Minerva (Athena), the Roman (Greek) goddess of wisdom.

Materials, dates and provenance

• Date: 1979-1981
• Manufactured by: Unidentified
• Owned by: Cheryl Bailey Solomon, American, born 1959
• Subject of: Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, American, founded 1913
• Subject of: Coppin State University, American, founded 1900
• Type: drinking glasses
• Medium: ink on glass
• Dimensions: H x W x D: 5 9/16 × 3 15/16 × 3 15/16 in. (14.1 × 10 × 10 cm)
• Place used: Baltimore, Maryland, United States, North and Central America
• Topic: African American
• Topic: Associations and institutions
• Topic: Communities
• Topic: Cooking and dining
• Topic: Education
• Topic: HBCUs (Historically Black Colleges and Universities)
• Topic: Sororities
• Topic: Women
• Object number: 2015.91.3
• Credit Line: Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Gift of Cheryl Bailey Solomon
• 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: © Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Permission required for use. Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.