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Source Description
The shape and material of gourd snuff containers—like a woman’s womb, the gourd contains and nurtures the seed—suggest they were made for female users and allude to procreation and fecundity.
Scholar Source Context
Document identity
localId
168421
label
Snuff Container
core
obj
dtoType
object
pageCount
1
Source metadata
id
168421
contentType
object
title
Snuff Container
description
The shape and material of gourd snuff containers—like a woman’s womb, the gourd contains and nurtures the seed—suggest they were made for female users and allude to procreation and fecundity.
date
1800s–1900s
rights
CC0
rightsUri
CC0
language
en
wikidata
Q60779558
genreSpecific
Vessels
imageCount
1
source
import
dimensionsRaw
Overall: 7.5 cm (2 15/16 in.)
cul
Africa, Southern Africa, South Africa, Zimbabwe or Mozambique, Northern Nguni-style or Shona-style maker
accession
2010.2
Source extras
tec
Gourd and copper alloy
tombstone
Snuff Container, 1800s–1900s. Africa, Southern Africa, South Africa, Zimbabwe or Mozambique, Northern Nguni-style or Shona-style maker. Gourd and copper alloy; overall: 7.5 cm (2 15/16 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Leonard C. Hanna Jr. Fund, 2010.200
collection
African Art
didYouKnow
The snuff and tobacco held in this container were believed to enable communication between humans and ancestors.
citations
citation
Klopper, Sandra. The Zulu Kingdom. New York: Rosen Publishing Group and Franklin Watts Library Edition (First Books on African Civilizations), 1998, cover; Ginzberg, Marc. African Forms, exh. cat., Museum for African Art, New York. Milan: Skira, 2000, p. 120; Sotheby's. "Collection Marc et Denyse Ginzberg." Paris, Sept. 10, 2007, lot 96
creditline
Leonard C. Hanna Jr. Fund
updatedAt
2026-05-29 08:39:42.883000
sourceId
168421
dept
African Art
coll
African Art
med
Gourd and copper alloy
thumbnail_url
image_url
Single page context
seq
1
pageIndex
0
type
photo
mediaId
de05be0d57d7eb05