Ram’s head snuff mull, 1875
Made by Mosgiel Woollen Factory Company (Limited), Mosgiel
Mounted ram's head with embedded silver and glass snuff mull; on silver and ceramic wheels; horns with glass and silver tips; painted eyes and nose; rabbit's foot, ivory gavel and silver rake attached by chains
250 x 405 x 360 mm
On loan from Otago Settlers Museum

Ram’s head snuff mull

Imagine a group of Scots sitting around a table taking snuff (ground tobacco) from this extraordinary snuff mull! With its three wheels, it could be pushed easily from one person to the next.

The snuff mull was the magnificent centrepiece of the Mosgiel Woollen Company's exhibit at the New Zealand and South Seas Exhibition, held in Dunedin in 1889-90. Scots-born Arthur John Burns had established the company in 1871.

Scots had a hand in every stage of the wool production process, from sheep grazing to the manufacture of yarns and cloth to the distribution of goods. Mosgiel and the nearby Roslyn Mills, which was founded by the Scots John Ross and Robert Glendining, remained household names for clothing and other woollen items well into the twentieth century.