Antique jewelry glossary

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Snuff tray

A small, shallow tray of cast gold or tumbaga, with vertical sides and a long handle, that was used by the Colombian Indians to hold yopo (a narcotic snuff prepared from toasted seeds). The snuff was inhaled through (a narcotic snuff prepared from toasted seeds). The snuff was inhaled through Y-shaped hollow tube (length 16cm) made of bird bones, terminating in two nostril-pieces. Sometimes a pottery snuffing pipe was used, having a small bowl with extended snuffing tube.

Similar trays were made of carved wood by the Indians in Chile and elsewhere in South America, c. 1250-1500. Replicas of the trays are often seen on the figures forming a Popora.

From: An Illustrated Dictionary of Jewelry, autor: Harold Newman, publishers: Thames and Hudson