S o u t h - e a s t   A f r i c a n   ( l a t e   1 9 t h   c e n t u r y )
Beaded snuff container



length of cylinders: 14.5cm

This double snuff container consists of two cylinders of bamboo bound together with beading. One calabash stopper remains. The geometric designs of alternating triangles, etched or burnt onto the surface of the cylinders, are closely associated with Shona decorative embellishments, and HPN Muller and Jon F Snellerman, Industrie des Cafres du Sud-est de L'Afrique, Leyden, c1895, plate XII, illustrate similar single decorated cylinders and describe them as originating from the Zambezi region.

© 2003 Michael Stevenson. All rights reserved.