Tobacco has a long and tangled history on the African continent. Introduced to southern Africa by Portuguese merchants in the sixteenth century, the production, distribution and consumption of tobacco expanded rapidly in the centuries that followed [1]. By the nineteenth century, tobacco was being used widely within indigenous communities across southern Africa – smoked in pipes but also consumed in the form of snuff; a substance produced by grinding up dried tobacco leaves into a fine powder. In this form, tobacco can be rubbed into the gap between the lip and gum or inhaled (‘snuffed’) into the nose to produce a brief high or, in large quantities, an intense hallucination. As consumption of this smokeless form of tobacco grew, it became a popular recreational activity among both men and women. At the same time, snuff became incorporated into the religious practices of many southern African cultures, where it was used to enhance people’s connection to the spiritual realm and to their ancestors.

This spoon, likely carved from the rib bone of an ox or cow, is from the Zulu culture of what is now KwaZulu-Natal province in South Africa. Used for measuring out and ‘snuffing’ tobacco, the spoon’s design is practical, with a long, curved handle and deep bowl. But its design is also aesthetic, with three carefully punched holes at its top and a series of interlocking designs along its stem, burned into the bone with ash and animal fat. Within nineteenth century Zulu culture, decorated spoons such as this were worn by both men and women to express personal style, draw attention to physical attributes and convey social and marital status. Photographs from the period show people adorned in a range of snuff-related items, including ornate transportable containers made of ivory as well as intricately carved dispensing spoons that could double as hairpins or combs [2].

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