Chilean jewelry, Snuff tray & spoon

Chilean jewelry jewelry - Snuff tray - Snuff spoon

Chilean jewelry is a pre-columbian jewelry made by the Araucanian Indians in Chile, who resisted the invading Spaniards and were not subdued until the late 19th century.

Examples of their jewelry included silver breast ornaments worn by the Araucanian women, decorated with pre-Columbian and colonial motifs; some such pieces were made of three or more vertically-linked ornaments, at the bottom of which was attached an embossed plaque with several suspended figures or discs.

An interesting article of Chilean jewelry is a snuff spoon. It is an implement used in taking snuff from a Snuff tray, being in the form of a small spatula. Some were carved of bone in Chile c. 1250-1500, for use by the local Indians.

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Snuff tray is 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 Y-shaped hollow tube (length 16 cm) 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 (see Colombian jewelry).