Artifact from Mount Vernon Slave Quarters

This decorated copper alloy buckle was excavated from the cellar of the House for Families slave quarter at Mount Vernon, indicating that the item probably belonged to an enslaved African American who lived in that dwelling. Slaves acquired such items of personal adornment in a number of ways, such as through the formal or informal trade economy that existed, as part of a slave's official livery, or when Washington family members gave special provisions to a particular enslaved person.