Cigarette holder owned by Cab Calloway: Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

A cigarette holder owned by Cab Calloway. The cigarette holder is carved from a single piece of polished ivory colored bone. The shaft of the handle has been carved with two, stacked Asian figures on the top of the holder. The figure near the tip of the cigarette holder is wearing robes and a hat, and has a thick beard. His robes are embellished with checkerboard and swirl patterns. The figure below is bald and is also wearing robes with a checkerboard pattern. His robe is open and his rounded belly is exposed. The patterns on the robes and the hat are incised and inlaid with black-brown paint. The eyes and eyebrows are painted black and the lips have been painted red on both figures. The underside of the holder is mostly plain but has carved areas where the front figures wrap around to the back. The opening to hold the cigarette is round and the mouthpiece is thinner with a small circular opening.

Materials, dates and provenance

• Date: early 20th-late 20th century
• Manufactured by: Unidentified
• Owned by: Cab Calloway, American, 1907 - 1994
• Type: cigarette holders (personal equipment)
• Medium: paint on bone
• Dimensions: H x W x D: 7/16 × 3/4 × 4 15/16 in. (1.1 × 1.9 × 12.5 cm)
• Topic: African American
• Topic: Band (Music)
• Topic: Composers (Musicians)
• Topic: Conductors (Musicians)
• Topic: Dance
• Topic: Design
• Topic: Jazz (Music)
• Topic: Ornamentation
• Object number: A2015.273.1.21
• Credit Line: Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Gift of Cabella Calloway Langsam
• Data Source: National Museum of African American History and Culture

Sources and reuse

Catalogue descriptions and facts adapted from National Museum of African American History and Culture through the Smithsonian's official Open Access dataset. This record explicitly marks its metadata CC0 1.0; formatting and selection have been changed. The underlying object's rights statement is: Unknown – Restrictions Possible Rights assessment and proper usage is the responsibility of the user.