Woya Miya

Notes

Working in the first half of the 20th Century, Woya Miya was a well known carver from Etonyaleni near Bergville in the Drakensberg region. This richly patinated headrest has three subtly notched legs joined by round buttresses. Clean and simple, the pattern created by fluting on the legs is only broken by a serrated ridge on the thinner middle leg. Purchased by original owner, MaZwane Nkala, from the carver in the late 1930s.

*This item is accompanied by the book by Bruce Goodall, Frédéric Zimmer, Mavis Duma, Nessa Liebhammer, Karel Nel (2021) Headrest of southern Africa: The Architecture of Sleep - KwaZulu-Natal, Eswatini and Limpopo, Milan, Italy: 5 Continents Editions.

Literature

Bruce Goodall, Frédéric Zimmer, Mavis Duma, Nessa Liebhammer, Karel Nel (2021) Headrest of southern Africa: The Architecture of Sleep - KwaZulu-Natal, Eswatini and Limpopo, Milan, Italy: 5 Continents Editions.

Provenance

MaZwane Nkala, Clive Newman Collection, Bruce Goodall Collection, accession number [A1277].