Uganda / Headrest / About 1940

Uganda
Headrest
About 1940
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Creator Nationality: African
Creator Name-CRT: Uganda
Title: Headrest
View: Full View
Creation Start Date: 1930
Creation End Date: 1942
Creation Date: About 1940
Creation Place: Uganda, Africa
Object Type: Decorative Arts and Utilitarian Objects
Classification Term: Furnishings
Materials and Techniques: Wood, rawhide
Dimensions: Height: 7 1/4"; width: 7 7/8"; depth: 6 1/4"
Description: A man's wooden headrest with a thick, round base. A hollow support column with a flattened front and back sides, rounded corners and a large hole at the center top. A very large saddle-shape platform with rawhide wrapped around the support column and sewn with a thong on one side. Twisted rawhide cord around the column base and top and twisted rawhide carrying strap looped around the top end.
AMICA Contributor: Brooklyn Children's Museum
Owner Location: Brooklyn, New York, USA
ID Number: 42.28.1
Credit Line: Gift of Miss Lucille Shearwood, 1942
Rights: http://www.amico.org/rights/bcm_.html
Context: Headrests are used in many regions in Africa. There is a great variety of styles. Headrests not only support the head while sleeping, they keep the head cooler. They also keep elaborate hairstyles from having to be re-done daily.

The donor indicated Uganda as the source of acquisition, but typical Ugandan headrests, such as those of the Karamajong people, might weigh less, reflecting their nomadic lifestyle as herders. Their headrests are typically light and portable with two legs or support columns and small crescent platforms. Like this one, however, many do have leather wrapped around the column. The hollow support column of this headrest provided storage for snuff or tobacco, and the cord allowed for easy transportation.
AMICA ID: BCM_.42.28.1
AMICA Library Year: 2003
Media Metadata Rights:

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