Boxing Venus: cowrie shell snuff boxes in the British Empire, 1680-1800
Date
2017
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Publisher
University of Delaware
Abstract
Admired for their striking beauty and lustrous surface, cowrie shells were harvested from reefs in the Pacific and sold in markets across the globe. This Master’s thesis explores the transpacific context of eighteenth-century tiger cowrie shell snuff box production, circulation, and consumption within the British Empire. Examining the whole history of cowrie shell boxes—from living organism to constructed box to object of social performance—highlights the impact of expanding global markets on the material culture and self-expression of people across the British Empire.
Description
Keywords
Social sciences, Shells, Snuff box, Tiger cowrie