"Snuff ring" with anthropomorphic head ·  Nigeria, Tiv · ID: 3048219

Description

cast in brass in the “lost-wax” method, base

Neyt noted in his standard work “The Arts of the Benue” (1985) that these snuff rings were once very commonly used and that they served to facilitate the snuffing of tobacco.

They always show the same shape with a disc-shaped platter for the snuff. They are richly decorated with concentric grooved patterns and other decoration, sometimes also with anthropomorphic motifs, as in the present object.

The object “Snuff ring” with anthropomorphic head with the object ID 3048219 was part of the auction 97th Auction on November 6, 2021. The object with the lot number 248 achieved a sales price of EUR 950 with an asking price of EUR 800.

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Comparing literature

Neyt, Francois, The Arts of the Benue, Michigan 1985, p. 200, IV.45