Object of the Month May 2023 - Keystone (Corbel) from the Old State House

May 2023

Keystone (Corbel) from the Old State House
c. 1713
0005.1959.010

The exterior of the Old State House has a surprising feature hiding in plain sight! Circling each of the round windows are four unique faces carved in limestone. These keystones provide structural support for the window frames, but also reflect the creativity of the stonemasons. Each of the sixteen faces is completely unique. A young boy, old man, lion, and satyr are some of the faces that peer down to the street below. The originals were removed for safekeeping and now reside in the Revolutionary Spaces collection, but replicas can still be seen surrounding the four round windows, two on each end of the building.

Click here to view this object in our collection.