Architectural molding fragment from Charleston, South Carolina

Source catalog description

This description refers to material held by Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture. Visual details below describe the original material.

A molding fragment from Charleston, South Carolina. The fragment is from a horizontal architectural element of a building. The fragment has a cement body. Above the cement is a thick decorative layer of an off-white portland cement, finished in a coat of plaster with a lime wash. On the back is a band of stucco at the top of the fragment. The stucco that has a tiny amount of red brick adhered to the surface in one spot. The exposed cement below the stucco has impressions of horizontal bands running across the surface. The fragment’s profile is a flat top with fillet that has broken off on the right edge. Below, at the center of the profile, is an ovolo molding. The bottom of the fragment terminates in a narrow, but deep, step. The flat top of the fragment is mostly intact. The bottom and side edges are broken and jagged.

Explore Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture ↗