Cigarette holder owned by Cab Calloway

Source catalog description

This description refers to material held by Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture. Visual details below describe the original material.

A cigarette holder owned by Cab Calloway. The cigarette holder is carved from a single piece of polished ivory colored bone. The shaft of the handle has been carved with two, stacked Asian figures on the top of the holder. The figure near the tip of the cigarette holder is wearing robes and a hat, and has a thick beard. His robes are embellished with checkerboard and swirl patterns. The figure below is bald and is also wearing robes with a checkerboard pattern. His robe is open and his rounded belly is exposed. The patterns on the robes and the hat are incised and inlaid with black-brown paint. The eyes and eyebrows are painted black and the lips have been painted red on both figures. The underside of the holder is mostly plain but has carved areas where the front figures wrap around to the back.

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