Snuff Container (late 1800s or early 1900s): Art, History and Details

Snuff Container (late 1800s or early 1900s) is in the Cleveland Museum of Art collection.

The work and its context

The museum's open-access catalogue describes the work:

Snuff containers made from a mixture of hide, earth, and blood constitute a very rare type of object in the artistic production of southern Africa. The specific gourdlike shape is an even more unusual occurrence. Its materials and purpose refer to the communication between animals and humans.

Object facts

• Title: Snuff Container
• Date: late 1800s or early 1900s
• Culture: Africa, Southern Africa, South Africa, Xhosa-style maker
• Type: Vessels
• Technique: Hide, earth, and blood
• Collection: African Art
• Department: African Art
• Accession number: 2016.60

A detail from the museum

The tobacco product snuff was stored in decorative, yet useful, containers like this one.

Collection credit

Gift of Frank Herreman in memory of Hendrik and Marcelle Herreman

Further reading listed by the museum

• Unpublished

View the collection record

See the museum's photographs and full catalogue entry. Catalogue text is reproduced from the Cleveland Museum of Art's open-access data, with HTML formatting removed. This object and its supplied image are designated CC0.