Opera glasses with case belonging to Etta Moten Barnett: Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

These are opera glasses (a) in a case (b) owned by Etta Moten Barnett. The opera glasses are black with gold filigree around the body. There are clear rhinestones studded within the filigree. The objective lenses, body and bridge are black. The bridge does not hinge. The eye cups are black. The focus wheel is black. There is text on the focus wheel that reads “Made in Japan.” There is text carved into the bridge and painted white that reads “Mignon / 2.5X.” The case (b) is silver satin with a cream colored interior, that closes with a white snap.

Materials, dates and provenance

• Date: 1960-2004
• Manufactured by: Unidentified
• Owned by: Etta Moten Barnett, American, 1901 - 2004
• Type: opera glasses
• Type: cases (containers)
• Medium: plastic and glass with metal and cloth
• Dimensions: H x W x D (a): 1 3/4 × 3 11/16 × 1 1/4 in. (4.5 × 9.3 × 3.2 cm)
• Dimensions: H x W x D (b): 1 15/16 × 4 1/8 × 1 3/8 in. (5 × 10.5 × 3.5 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: A2022.13.1.116ab
• 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.