Necklaces such as this were worn by the South Nguni peoples in the Eastern Cape. The pencil-thin stalks of wood were often made from Tamboti and strung alternately with red beads. The adaptation of the neckpiece to incorporate a calabash snuff container illustrates the continuing play on form and function that characterises so much south-east African material culture. See EM Shaw and NJ van Warmelo, 'The material culture of the Cape Nguni', Annals of the SA Museum, 58 (4), Jan 1986, plate 104, fig 3 for a Bomvana example, and L Hooper, 'Some Nguni wood-carving', Annals of the SA Museum, 70(3), May 1981, p184, fig 17 for a Thembu example and p183, fig 16 for a Xhosa example.