Snuff Container

Description

Combining beauty and functionality, this finely carved wooden snuff container is adorned with twisted strands of colorful glass beads. Once an object of status, it signaled the wealth and taste of its owner. Its general shape and the parallel ridges appear to be the skillful imitation of a fruit. Throughout southern Africa and elsewhere on the continent, smoking tobacco and taking snuff are enjoyed as activities that enhance positive social relationships. Both men and women wore these personal and portable objects attached to cloaks, carried in bags, or adorning the neck, arm, or waist.

Provenance

(Christie's Paris, France, June 20, 2006, lot 227) (2006); (Jacaranda Tribal Art Gallery, New York, NY, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art) (2010); The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (2010–)

Snuff Container

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1800s–1900s

Accession Number

2010.201

Medium

Wood, glass beads, shell, and cotton

Dimensions

Overall: 20.3 cm (8 in.)

Classification

Vessels

Museum

The Cleveland Museum of Art

Cleveland, United States

Credit Line

Leonard C. Hanna Jr. Fund