Cleveland Museum of Art

Snuff Spoon/Comb (intshengula or izintshengula)

Date

late 1800s

Medium

Bone

Culture

Africa, Southern Africa, South Africa, Zulu-style maker

Department

African Art

Institution

Cleveland Museum of Art

Often, snuff spoons made from the rib of an ox or cow were subtly carved to suggest a female body. Decorated with incised designs blackened with cattle fat and ash, many are true hybrid objects, combining a spoon with a long-tined comb or hairpin. Such spoons were typically worn as ornaments in the hair or even the beard, thus signaling the social standing of their wearer. Such spoons were typically worn as ornaments in the hair or even the beard, signaling the social standing of their wearer.

The authoritative record is held by Cleveland Museum of Art. LinkedCulture surfaces this object and its connections; it does not alter institutional metadata.