Snuff spoon

Object Details

Zulu artist

Label Text

Zulu snuff spoons were frequently carved from the rib bones of oxen or cows. Incised and punched designs were blackened with fat and ash. These spoons were used to take snuff from a container or to remove sweat from the brow.

Description

Bone spoon with a pointed oval bowl and a flat handle ending in a point, with three incised and blackened circle-dot motifs at the bowl end of the handle and flanking each side of a relief hollow cylinder form.

Provenance

Michael Graham-Stewart, London, -- to 1989

Exhibition History

Art of the Personal Object, National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C., September 24, 1991-April 9, 2007

Content Statement

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Credit Line

Acquisition grant from the James Smithson Society

Early to mid-20th century

Object number

89-8-62

Restrictions & Rights

Usage conditions apply

Type

Sculpture

Medium

Bone, pigment

Dimensions

H x W x D: 14.3 x 1.9 x 1 cm (5 5/8 x 3/4 x 3/8 in.)

Geography

South Africa

See more items in

National Museum of African Art Collection

National Museum of African Art

Topic

Tobacco

male

Record ID

nmafa_89-8-62

Metadata Usage (text)

Usage conditions apply

GUID (Link to Original Record)

http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ys7c8f0b4a7-576b-4020-b906-95a7555d92fb