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Museum object · Slavery and Freedom Objects

Pantile shard

before 1863

United States, North and Central America

COLLECTION RECORDImage not availableExplore the catalog description and source record.
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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 pantile shard from an unknown architectural structure. The shard is constructed from terracotta and coated in a black glaze. The shard has an S-shaped profile, mainly concave with a smaller convex lip on one side. The decorative side of the shard is almost entirely coated in a shiny black glaze. Large patches of glaze have chipped off of the surface and along left and bottom edges. There are minor mortar accretions at the top left edge. There is a horizontal glaze line at the top of the shard and a vertical line along the left side edge leaving strips of the terracotta exposed. There is a large semicircular loss at the top right corner of the tile and a smaller one at the bottom. The back of the tile is fully covered in black discoloration. The surface is roughly textured. Patches of white salt efflorescence coat the surface.

Sources & collection details

Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture — original record ↗

Source collection ↗

Catalog metadata · CC0 · Source checked 2026-10-13

Catalog reference: 2017.108.21.52

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