About this artwork
Snuff containers made from small gourds are highly personal items among the Samburu and other nomadic herder groups. Typically carried on the body and used to store tobacco snuff, they were decorated with glass beads or iron chains. A costly luxury product, tobacco is consumed by both men and women for social and medicinal purposes, or sniffed as a means of communicating with ancestors and other spirits during divination.
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Status
- Currently Off View
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Department
- Arts of Africa
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Culture
- Maasai
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Title
- Snuff Container
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Place
- Kenya (Object made in:)
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Medium
- Ivory
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Dimensions
- with chain extended: 43.9 × 5.1 × 3.9 cm (17 1/4 × 2 × 1 1/2 in.); container only: 8 × 5.1 × 3.9 cm (3 1/8 × 2 × 1 1/2 in.)
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Credit Line
- Gift of the Michael R. Mack Collection
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Reference Number
- 2024.367
Extended information about this artwork
Object information is a work in progress and may be updated as new research findings emerge. To help improve this record, please email . Information about image downloads and licensing is available here.
