Prosthetic arm and hand made for Colonel Peter Charles Gaillard (1812-1889) following a serious injury received at Battery Wagner on Morris Island in 1863. The Charleston Museum’s collection includes many objects associated with the Civil War, including uniforms, weapons, flags, and a variety of other objects in some way linked…
Read MoreStoneware storage jar inscribed: “Dave belongs to Mr. Miles, wher the oven bakes and the pot biles” and dated July 31, 1840. The Charleston Museum is honored to own an important collection of pottery created by famed Edgefield potter “Dave” or David Drake. Born into slavery around 1801 in the Edgefield…
Read MoreThe Charleston Museum has many exhibits which have become fixtures in the minds of visitors. Items and creatures that spark the imagination and leave a lifelong impression. Few have been leaving such an impression as the North Atlantic right whale that hangs in the Museum’s lobby, as it has been…
Read MorePortraits are powerful objects. In addition to forming a visual record of an individual’s likeness, they frequently provide a glimpse into the sitter’s social status, aspirations, material wealth, and the context in which they lived out their lives. They not only represent reality, but often what the artist or sitter…
Read MoreSea grass basket fragments made of rush and palmetto, late 18th century, recovered from the Heyward-Washington House privy. Archaeological studies are built on the identification and quantification of groups of artifacts. The Museum’s archaeological collections alone include over two million fragments. Charleston sites, in particular, produce large assemblages of material,…
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