World War I ashtray with bullet motif belonging to Etta Moten Barnett: Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

This is a World War I trench art souvenir metal ashtray belonging to Etta Moten Barnett. It consists of a square shallow metal dish with rounded corners and a wide lip. There are four bullets lying along the lip of the ashtray, one on each side. Spaced in between the bullets are grooves, of a size to rest a cigarette. In the center depression of the ashtray is the crest of the city of Verdun. The crest consists of a castle on a shield under a crown. Raised text across the band of the crown reads “VERDUN.” The shield and crown are partially encircled by a horseshoe shape with the letters “VERDUN” within it.

Materials, dates and provenance

• Date: 1914-1918
• Created by: Unidentified Man or Men
• Owned by: Etta Moten Barnett, American, 1901 - 2004
• Type: ashtrays
• Medium: metal
• Dimensions: H x W x D: 3 15/16 × 3 15/16 × 3/16 in. (10 × 10 × 0.5 cm)
• Place made: Verdun, France, Europe
• Place used: Chicago, Cook County, Illinois, United States, North and Central America
• Topic: African American
• Topic: Activism
• Topic: Actors
• Topic: Broadway Theatre
• Topic: International affairs
• Topic: Singers (Musicians)
• Topic: Women
• Topic: World War I
• Object number: A2022.13.1.67
• 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.