Artwork Page for Headrest

Details / Information for Headrest

Headrest

1800s–1900s

Africa, Southern Africa, South Africa, Zulu-style carver, Africa, Southern Africa, South Africa, Kingdom of Eswatini, Swazi-style carver

Medium
Wood
Measurements
Overall: 10.2 cm (4 in.)
Credit Line
Leonard C. Hanna Jr. Fund 2010.198
Public Domain
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Location
108B Southern African
Print
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Did You Know?

Headrests served to protect the elaborate coiffures highly fashionable until the early to mid-20th century and also enhanced contact with the ancestral realm through dreams.

Description

The shape of this four-legged headrest alludes to cattle, whether bull, ox, or cow. This reference services from the fact that these animals are a source of wealth but also act as mediators between the living and the dead. In earlier days, both headrests and cattle were used in dowry transactions.

Headrest

1800s–1900s

Africa, Southern Africa, South Africa, Zulu-style carver, Africa, Southern Africa, South Africa, Kingdom of Eswatini, Swazi-style carver

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