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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 a concave profile and a roughly parallelogram shape. The decorative, concave side of the tile is almost entirely coated in a shiny black glaze. Large patches of glaze have chipped off of the surface at the center extending down towards the bottom left corner. There are minor mortar accretions on the left edge. There is a vertical glaze line along the left side edge leaving a thin strip of the terracotta exposed. The back of the shard 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: 2017.108.21.53

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