Snuff Tablet (1–650 CE): Art, History and Details

Snuff Tablet (1–650 CE) is in the Cleveland Museum of Art collection.

The work and its context

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

Both of these objects feature a creature known as the "Recuay feline," although it could also refer to a fox, dog, or viscacha (a rodent). Whatever its identity, the prominent crest on its head ties it to the supernatural realm, a connection underlined by the deity head that also appears on the dipper and by the ritual function of snuff tablets, which were used to inhale hallucinogenic snuffs during religious ceremonies.

Object facts

• Title: Snuff Tablet
• Date: 1–650 CE
• Culture: Peru, North Highlands, Recuay style
• Type: Furniture and woodwork
• Technique: wood with gold foil
• Dimensions: Overall: 12.4 x 3 x 1.1 cm (4 7/8 x 1 3/16 x 7/16 in.)
• Collection: AA - Andes
• Department: Art of the Americas
• Accession number: 1996.303

Collection credit

Sundry Purchase Fund

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.