Carved wooden headrest. [EH [OPS Move] 27/3/2017]

Collection type: Object
Description: Carved wooden headrest. [EH [OPS Move] 27/3/2017]
Long description: Carved wooden headrest. The seat is rectangular and concavely curved, and is decorated with incised lines on the edges. The stem of the headrest splits near the top to form two splayed legs. The legs have been bound together with leather, which has been shaped to form two handles and covered in coloured beads. [EH [OPS Move] 27/3/2017]
Geographical reference: Kenya
Africa > Eastern Africa > Kenya; East of Mount Elgon
Cultural groups: Tiati
Person: Field collector Jean Brown Sassoon; PRM source Jean Brown Sassoon
Date / Period: Date made: Before 1978
Date collected: By 1978
Acquisition information: Purchased: 1978
Materials and processes: Material Wood Plant, Material Animal Leather Skin, Material Glass, Material Bead, Process Carved, Process Decorated, Process Stitched, Process Beadwork, Process Incised
Dimensions: Height: max 200 mm, Width: max 57 mm, Length: max 136 mm
Object numbers: Accession number: 1978.20.34 Other numbers: MH26B or MH26A
Associated publications: The headrests in the Pokot collection given to the Museum by Jean Brown are discussed on page 215 (and elsewhere) of African Dream Machines: Style, Identity and Meaning of African Headrests, by Anitra Nettleton (Johannesburg: Wits University Press, 2007). Some are illustrated and discussed in detail, but not this object. [JC 7 8 2008]

Search