Head ornament (2)

Traditionally bead-decorated snuff box or bamboo tube, as made and worn by various East and South African peoples (such as the Maasai or groups in Northern Nguni/southern Africa).

Here is a beautiful head ornament with beads and shells, of which one is missing an early specimen with age and not intended for the tourist.

The object consists of a central cylindrical holder of reddish-brown material (possibly wood or bamboo), with pieces of leather or hide at the ends and fine beadwork in striking colors such as red, blue, white, and green, attached to a longer strap made of leather and beads. Such tubes were traditionally used for storing tobacco (snuff) or medicinal powders.