This hollow cylindrical snuff container has been crafted from white metal, steel.
Probably originally from some form of military bullet shell. The container’s leather strap and rubber stopper have been secured to the body of the receptacle with a copper band.
Estimated Period: Mid-20th Century
The taking of snuff was wide spread throughout southern Africa, and carefully carved snuff containers were often treasured personal possessions among both men and women. The act of taking and sharing snuff, a substance connected to the ancestral realm, unifies the social and the spiritual.
References
British Museum, ‘Smoking and Snorting Tobacco in South Africa'
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