Zulu Headrest

Notes

A classic and well-worn Ntuli Mchunu headrest with a beautiful, rounded top and glossy patinated amasumpa - the raised protrusions are the definitive and classic decorative element used by Zulu carvers and potters. Perfectly symmetrical and balanced - each angle and every component of this headrest was considered and skilfully carved. The wood colour and smooth platform surface, the smaller platform below, and the base are balanced by the substantial, decorative squares on the columns.

Ntuli Mchunu was a master carver from Empungulwane near Emhlumba Mountain in the Weenen area of Msinga. His headrests were of the multi-structured type, taking the form of a headrest within a bigger headrest.

Purchased by the original owner, Mahlaba Mkhize, from the carver in the early 1940s. A photograph of her husband Ntabamhlophe Mkhize, with the headrest, is featured on page 196 of the book that accompanies this item:

*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 196 and 226 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

Mahlaba Mkhize, Clive Newman Collection, Bruce Goodall Collection, accession number [A1039].