Zulu Headrest

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 a copy of the book Headrests of southern Africa: The Architecture of Sleep - KwaZulu-Natal, Eswatini and Limpopo, Milan, Italy: 5 Continents Editions.

Literature

Featured on page 270 and 271 of Headrests of southern Africa: The Architecture of Sleep - KwaZulu-Natal, Eswatini and Limpopo, Milan, Italy: 5 Continents Editions (2021) by Bruce Goodall, Frédéric Zimer, Mavis Duma, Nessa Liebhammer and Karel Nel.

Provenance

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