The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of October 7, 2024

Snuff Spoon (intshengula or izintshengula)

Snuff Spoon (intshengula or izintshengula)

late 1800s
bone
Overall: 17.8 cm (7 in.)
Gift of Dori and Daniel Rootenberg, Jacaranda Tribal, New York 2010.234
Location: 108B Southern African

Did You Know?

Such spoons were typically worn as ornaments in the hair or even the beard, signaling the social standing of their wearer.

Description

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.
  • after 1870–1922
    Gertrude Hance [1844-1922], Brookdale, PA
    after 1922–2007
    Robert Pagano (Hance family member), sold to Jacaranda LLC, New York, NY
    2007–2010
    Dori and Daniel Rootenberg, Jacaranda Tribal, New York, NY, given to the Cleveland Museum of Art
    2010–
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
  • The Art of Daily Life: Portable Objects From Southeast Africa. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (April 17, 2011-February 26, 2012).
    Cleveland Museum of Art, (4/16/11-2/26/12); "The Art of Daily Life: Portable Objects from Southeast Africa" cat. no. 33
  • {{cite web|title=Snuff Spoon (intshengula or izintshengula)|url=false|author=|year=late 1800s|access-date=07 October 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/2010.234