Metal Figurine Excavated in Anacostia

Object Details

Date
After 1867
Medium
brass (alloy)
Dimensions
2 × 3 1/2 × 2 in. (5.1 × 8.9 × 5.1 cm)
Cite As
Anacostia Community Museum, Smithsonian Institution
Caption
In the early 1980s, archaeologists excavated land along Howard Road, SE before construction began on the Anacostia Metro Station in southeast Washington, D.C. Objects unearthed in the excavation revealed nearly 10,000 years of human settlement in the area. Their discoveries included a metal figure, possibly used for outdoor décor. Pegs under the elfin man’s shoes could be secured to a gate, for instance. His outstretched hands appear to wrap around an object, now absent. A potential indoor role for the bearded gnome could be to heft a holder for matches, cigars, pipes, or toothpicks, feet affixed to a base. The figurine likely dates to the neighborhood’s most prosperous period, 1880-1920.
Accession Number
1991.0064.0010
Type
figurine
See more items in
Anacostia Community Museum Collection
Data Source
Anacostia Community Museum
Restrictions & Rights
CC0
GUID
http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/dl811702085-3da0-4877-bdbe-f1881b7b5756
Record ID
acm_1991.0064.0010
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