Gavel used to open the Dumbarton Oaks Conversations on 21 August 1944

The gavel is made of wood from the USS Constellation, one of the six original frigates authorized by the United States in 1794. The USS Constellation was the first of the six frigates to go to sea, in June 1798, at the beginning of the undeclared naval war with France.

Photo: Dumbarton Oaks Archives, AR.OB.Misc.038.