Cleveland Museum of Art

Snuff Container

Date

1800s-1900s

Medium

Horn and wood

Culture

Africa, Southern Africa, Lesotho, South Sotho maker

Department

African Art

Institution

Cleveland Museum of Art

This snuff container in the form of a human (female) figure was carved from cattle horn. The form of the image follows the curve of the horn, with arms and hands held to the chest. Despite its smallish size and minimalist execution, this object demonstrates considerable expressive power. Cattle had special meaning for the pastoralist peoples of southern Africa in that it stood for the wealth and status of the individual and the group. However, similar to the ideas associated with tobacco and snuff, cattle also referred to the world of the ancestors. Snuff containers like this one had great significance for their owners and users. The tobacco product snuff was stored in decorative, yet useful, containers like this one.

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