Headrest, c. 1890 Tsonga peoples, Mozambique and South Africa Wood 14.6 x 53.7 cm (5 3/4 x 21 1/8 in) 91-14-1, museum purchase

African headrests are designed to cradle the neck and support the head. They protect coiffures and elevate the head for sleeping. Headrests display an amazing variety of forms. In some, one sees the original form of the tree trunks or branches from which they were carved. Others bear little relation to the natural form of the wood. The support for the head is generally a curved rectangle, but legs, pedestals, and decoration demonstrate the cultural invention of form and the elaboration upon form that is the work of the individual artist.

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