Hand mirror belonging to Etta Moten Barnett: Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

This is a hand mirror belonging to Etta Moten Barnett. It consists of round glass set into an ornate round metal frame with a decorated metal handle. The metal is colored gold but is tarnishing along the handle and up the center back of the frame. The metal front rim of the mirror has a tiny wave pattern between two twisted rope patterns around the rim of the glass. The back of the mirror has large molded three-dimensional flowers and leaves arranged in a circle against an embossed paisley and small flower patterned background. In the center is a three dimensional square formed put of fretwork. Resting on the center is a large metal flower with its petals open. The handle resembled two strands of metal that have been braided or twisted against each other to form one strand. At the bottom of the handle the two strands part to form an open space, with floral vines twining through them and a floral element as the handle finial.

Materials, dates and provenance

• Date: ca. 1940
• Manufactured by: Unidentified
• Owned by: Etta Moten Barnett, American, 1901 - 2004
• Type: hand mirrors
• Medium: metal and glass
• Dimensions: H x W x D: 13 15/16 × 6 1/8 × 13/16 in. (35.4 × 15.5 × 2 cm)
• Place used: Chicago, Cook County, Illinois, United States, North and Central America
• Topic: African American
• Topic: Activism
• Topic: Actors
• Topic: Broadway Theatre
• Topic: Singers (Musicians)
• Topic: Women
• Object number: A2022.13.1.42
• Credit Line: Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture
• 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.