21 Wooden headrest
Kenya, Karamojong
First half of the twentieth century or later
This wooden headrest has a support in the form of two splayed legs, tied together by a double twisted cord of hide also forming a handle. The two free supports lead directly to a platform with slightly raised ends and with a convex curve of the surface from side to side, it is covered in a thick oily substance. The surface of the base of the object is worn through use. Headrests with two legs and a central tied handle are mostly associated with a single group who share the same language and social organisations, but who live across the modern geographical borders of Uganda, Kenya and Sudan.
Private Collection, loan 5