Chinta's spice container

Chinta's spice container

Items:

- Photo: Chinta's duck-shaped spice container
- Audio: Chinta tells the story of her spice duck and how she got it
- Photo: Chinta's duck-shaped spice container
- Photo: detail showing depiction of the Taj Mahal
- Audio: Chinta talks about the artisan-maker who created the duck.
- Photo: detail showing the decoration
- Photo: Chinta's duck-shaped spice box
- Audio: Chinta talks about getting Indian spices in 1960s Oxford.
- Photo: Chinta's portrait (photo taken by Fran Monks)

For Chinta, her spice container shaped as a duck - not a swan! - brings back nostalgic memories of her younger days in South Africa. The beautifully crafted item, made in India in the 1950s, hides spice containers much like any other masala dabba, keeping them air-tight for freshness.

"When I first came here, we couldn't get some of the spices that we needed for this dabba... which once I would've guarded with my life! But now you can buy a whole load of them in huge quantities."

The potrait of Chinta holding her spice container was taken during the Covid-19 pandemic, in July 2020, hence her wearing a face mask.

1950s

Chinta Kallie
Fran Monks