Snuff Spoon/Comb (intshengula or izintshengula)
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CC0
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1263 × 801 px · WebP
Suggested credit
Snuff Spoon/Comb (intshengula or izintshengula) (late 1800s). Gift of Dori and Daniel Rootenberg, Jacaranda Tribal, New York Rights: CC0. https://clevelandart.org/art/2010.233

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From the museum record

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.

Lupin’s visual index

A pale ivory Japanese serving fork with three tines and a spoon-shaped handle is presented against a neutral gray background.

Machine-assisted description · useful for discovery, not scholarship.
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Snuff Spoon/Comb (intshengula or izintshengula)

Snuff Spoon/Comb (intshengula or izintshengula)
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