Snuff Container

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Culture Zulu

Culture Tsonga

Culture Nguni

Title Snuff Container

Date Unknown

Medium Wood

Dimensions Object: 6 1/2 × 10 3/4 × 2 5/8 in. (16.5 × 27.3 × 6.7 cm)
Overall: 6 1/2 x 10 3/4 x 2 5/8 in. (16.5 x 27.3 x 6.7 cm)

Credit Line Raymond and Laura Wielgus Collection, Eskenazi Museum of Art, Indiana University

Accession Number 2010.29

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About this Work

This container, carved from a single piece of wood, demonstrates a mastery of material, form, and technique. The large oval ring not only attaches to the smaller ring at the top like a link in a chain, but it also can be moved around the cylinder inside it, from which the two globular receptacles extend. Though the form of this container is not unique, none of the known examples have a definitive Zulu provenance, though they are similar to some Zulu examples. In addition, the form of the two receptacles here clearly relates to the shell of the fruit of the umthongwane tree, which was used as the most common Zulu snuff container.

Provenance
More Details

Provenance research is ongoing for this and many other items in the Eskenazi Museum of Art permanent collection. For more information about the provenance of this artwork, please contact the department curator with specific questions.

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Cite this Page
"Snuff Container | Collections Online." Collections Online. Sidney and Lois Eskenazi Museum of Art, Indiana University, 2024. https://artmuseum.indiana.edu/collections-online/browse/object.php?number=2010.29