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Whilst perusing once again L'art précolombien d'Haïti, we were struck by this marvelous object. Supposedly, it is a bifurcated snuff tube from from the indigenous peoples found in La Gonave, Haiti. The female wood carvers of La Gonave were famous for their skills at the time of contact with Europeans, leading one to wonder if this marvelous piece was an example of their work. When Peter Martyr d'Anghiera did allude to them, it was in the context of stools and wooden platters and other objects considered part of the treasure of Anacaona.
A snuff tube likely used in cohoba rituals was almost certainly tied to the upper-crust of society, as the fine detail that went into this piece demonstrates. We are unsure what the figure depicted in the tube is (a kneeling figure with zoomorphic traits?), but the quality and level of detail in it are highly suggestive of an object used by the elites. Given the proximity of La Gonave to the center of the Xaragua cacicazgo, this object may have been used by caciques and indigenous elite groups tied to Xaragua.