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Container for Cosmetic Powder

At the time when this object was dispatched to Stuttgart, in many regions of Namibia, similar cosmetic boxes were used by women, and would often be passed down through the generations along female lines of succession, in some cases to this day. Made from the shell of a small turtle, these private containers for cosmetic, perfumed body powder were sometimes adorned with strings of beads made from various materials strung on leather strings. The object may have been attached to a waist belt. Text: Sandra Ferracuti.

Data Provider
Linden-Museum Stuttgart Staatliches Museum für Völkerkunde
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Cataloguing data

Cultural attribution
Bergdama
Object type
Dose
Dimensions
Länge: 8 cm, Breite: 6.2 cm
Material/Technique
Putty, Turtle shell, Leather
pierced, knotted
Current location
Linden-Museum Stuttgart
Inventory number
034434

Provenance and sources

when
around 1900 or earlier

where
Namibia

when
1903
Provenance
As head of the districts of Otjimbingwe and Karibib, "German South-West Africa", Kuhn undertook more extensive travels on which he also acquired objects. The manner in which he did this is unknown. From the correspondence preserved at the Linden Museum, we learn that Kuhn was in contact with Catholic missionaries in the north and Protestant missionaries in the south. He had encouraged both groups to "collect" for him. Text: Christoph Rippe.

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