Snuff Spoon (intshengula or izintshengula)
Unknown Artist
late 1800s
Medium
bone
Dimensions
h. 17.8 cm
Classification
Implements
Department
African Art
Museum
Cleveland Museum of Art
Credit
Gift of Dori and Daniel Rootenberg, Jacaranda Tribal, New York
Accession Number
2010.234
Rights
Public Domain
About this artwork
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.