Ethiopian Wood Headrest

Sleep, in parts of East Africa, was approached with care. The hair was arranged. Nobody wanted to flatten it.

Hence the headrest. This one is from Ethiopia, made in the 20th century. Headrests supported the neck during sleep and protected carefully arranged hairstyles, and were often among a person’s most personal possessions. A wide, gently dished top, crescent-curved, rests on a column carved with a rectangular opening in which two blocky tabs reach toward one another. Below, a solid, rounded foot.

The wood is warm reddish-brown, smooth and softly glowing from handling. Eight inches wide. A pillow with an architectural streak.