1940.12.534

Collection type

Object

Description

Wooden headrest or stool with rectangular seat on a hide covered pedestal foot with hide carrying loop [RTS 11/4/2005].

Long description

Wooden headrest or stool carved from a single piece of yellowish wood (Pantone 7509C), and consisting of a sub-rectangular seat with straight sides and convex ends, with the upper surface being convex across its width and concave along its length. This has a flat underside, with a broad pedestal foot extending from the centre; this is oval in section, and has a rectangular opening cut through the centre; it flares out at the base to form a splaying foot with flat outer edge and underside, oval in plan view. The pedestal body has been covered with a rectangular piece of yellowish animal hide (Pantone 7508C), the joining edges pushed together and stitched through with a narrow hide thong. This creates a hollow compartment inside the object, which is accessed through an oval window that has been cut into the hide covering on one side. Narrow strips of hide were then wrapped several times around the top and bottom of the pedestal, and used to anchor a short carrying loop made from a piece of hide bound round with similar strips. The object is nearly complete, except for 2 large chunks missing from the side and underside of the foot; the surface has a dusty gray appearance throughout and only shows the original colour of its materials in places. There are also 2 water marks on the underside of the seat. It has a weight of 395.5 grams, and is 147 mm high. The seat is 178 mm long, 84 mm wide and 4 mm thick; the pedestal is 89.7 mm wide and 50 mm thick, with an oval opening 31 mm in length, and a splaying foot that measures 108.8 by 89.5 mm across. The handle is 83.5 mm long, 8.7 mm wide and 6.6 mm thick, while the hide strips binding it are 5 mm wide [RTS 11/4/2005].

Geographical reference

South Sudan

Africa > Eastern Africa > South Sudan

Sudan, Republic of

Africa > Northern Africa > Sudan, Republic of

Person

Field collector Charles Gabriel Seligman

Field collector Brenda Zara Seligman

PRM source Charles Gabriel Seligman

PRM source Brenda Zara Seligman

Date / Period

Date made: Before 1940

Date collected

By 1940

Acquisition information

Donated: 1940

Materials and processes

Material Wood Plant, Material Animal Hide Skin, Process Carved, Process Covered, Process Stitched, Process Bound, Process Knotted

Dimensions

Height 147 mm, Width 89.7 mm pedestal, Width 89.5 mm base, Height 4 mm seat, Length 108.8 mm base, Width 84 mm seat, Length 178 mm seat, Weight 395.5 g

Object numbers

Accession number: 1940.12.534

Research and responses

For similar headrest stools, see: 1931.66.16 (Nuer, collected by Evans-Pritchard), and 1934.8.40 (Bari, collected by Powell-Cotton; this differs in having an an oval seat) [RTS 11/4/2005].

Search terms: Furniture Dwelling, Headrest, Furniture, Stool