Snuff Container
Southern Africa, South Africa, Zimbabwe or Mozambique, Northern Nguni or Shona , 19th or 20th century
Date:
1800s-1900s
Medium:
gourd, copper and brass wire
Collection:
African Art [1]
Dimensions:
Overall - h:7.50 cm (h:2 15/16 inches)
Credit Line:
Leonard C. Hanna, Jr. Fund
Accession Number:
2010.200
Gallery ID:
Gallery 108
Snuff containers made out of a gourd--the hard shell of the fruit of the Oncoba spinosa tree--and decorated with wirework were widespread in southern Africa. The shape and material of gourd snuff containers suggest they would have been made for female users. Like a woman’s womb, the gourd contains and nurtures the seed. Thus, the materials and the forms of snuff containers allude to procreation and fecundity.
Inscription:
Museum Collection Highlight?:
no
Object Type:
A
accnbr yyyy:
2 010
accnbr iiii:
200
accnbr ssss:
accnbr pppp:
Has cover record?:
No