Snuff bottle with Chain

20th century

Tobacco was stored in this bottle, and worn around the neck of a Maasai elder. Not grown by Maasai, tobacco was not common but formed a significant marker at communal events. Snuff was shared with others, and rarely taken alone.

Ivory, glass beads, and metal chain

L.: 22 7/16 in.

Diam.: 2 1/16 in.

Gift of Katherine White and the Boeing Company

81.17.1021

Not currently on view

Resources

Exhibition HistorySeattle, Washington, Seattle Art Museum, African Panoplies: Art for Rulers, Traders, Hunters, and Priests, Apr. 21 - Aug. 14, 1988.

Seattle, Washington, Seattle Art Museum, A Bead Quiz, July 1, 2008 - July 1, 2009

Published ReferencesBurt, Eugene C. East African Art in the Collection of the Seattle Art Museum, Seattle, WA: Seattle Art Museum, 1985, no. 18, p. 25

Seattle Art Museum respectfully acknowledges that we are on Indigenous land, the traditional territories of the Coast Salish people. We honor our ongoing connection to these communities past, present, and future.

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