Accession Number

1986.008.0765

Creation Date

circa 1700

Description

Mirror or picture frame.
 

Exhibition Label

A small, lead frame from the 1700 slave ship Henrietta Marie most likely once held a mirror. It is one of ten such pieces recovered from the shipwreck. The frame is 11.3 centimeters tall and has an opening for a small oval of glass of 7.1 by 5.0cm. The glass was held in place by four bent-over prongs. The back of the frame is plain, but the front is decorated with scrollwork, and the piece is topped with two cherubs holding a crown seated on a heart. Records from other slave ships of the time show they often carried “looking glasses” as part of their cargo intended for trade along the West African coast. This frame is evidence the Henrietta Marie did the same.