2-730-942 - Heritage Art/Heritage Images

Headrest, 1800s-1900s. As pillows, headrests served to protect the elaborate coiffures highly fashionable until the early to mid- 20th century, and their use also enhanced contact with the ancestral realm through dreams. Their remains in Great Zimbabwe, other ancient ruins, and abandoned 12th-century burial caves attest to the region’s longstanding tradition of producing and using headrests. [Constantine Petridis Cleveland Museum of Art, (4/16/11-2/26/12); "The Art of Daily Life: Portable Objects from Southeast Africa"]