West Africa, Sierra Leone, Mende people, ca. 1930. A tall, tapering powder container carved from bone (or ivory), its neck rising to a small disc with a pierced rim and a stopper. The surface is pale and smooth.

Firearms reached Sierra Leone through coastal trade from the 17th century, and Mende hunters carried gunpowder in horns and carved containers like this one, often decorated as prestige objects. Source: Dimondstein Tribal Arts, Los Angeles, 2008; previously Michael Rhodes Gallery, New York.