Headrest
date: label: Date
content: 11th-14th century
name: label: Maker
content: Tellem artist
notes: label: Label Text
content: In the Bandiagara Cliff villages of the Dogon peoples, carved wooden headrests have been found in burial caves. The Dogon attribute them to the Tellem peoples, who inhabited the region from the 11th to the 16th centuries. Archaeologist Rogier Bedaux, who has excavated in the burial caves, asserts that headrests "do not occur in Dogon contexts."
label: Label Text
content: Tellem headrests from documented cave sites have elegant silhouettes but minimal decoration. Other undocumented examples, like this one, are adorned with circles, zigzags or other geometric designs.
label: Description
content: Wood headrest with curved rectangular top with projecting tab at each end, incised circular motif and a rectangular support which stands on a flat rectangular base.
label: Provenance
content: William Brill, New York, -- to 1975
label: Content Statement
content: As part of our commitment to accessibility and transparency, the Smithsonian National Museum of African Art is placing its collection records online. Please note that some records are incomplete (missing image or content descriptions) and others reflect out-of-date language or systems of thought regarding how to engage with and discuss cultural heritage and the specifics of individual artworks. If you see content requiring immediate action, we will do our best to address it in a timely manner. Please email nmafacuratorial@si.edu if you have any questions.
label: Image Requests
content: High resolution digital images are not available for some objects. For publication quality photography and permissions, please contact the Eliot Elisofon Photographic Archives at https://africa.si.edu/research/eliot-elisofon-photographic-archives/
place: label: Geography
content: Mali
topic: label: Topic
content: Funerary
label: Topic
content: male
setName: label: See more items in
content: National Museum of African Art Collection
creditLine: label: Credit Line
content: Gift of William Brill
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of African Art
identifier: label: Object number
content: 75-32-1
objectType: label: Type
content: Decorative Arts
objectRights: label: Restrictions & Rights
content: CC0
physicalDescription: label: Medium
content: Wood
label: Dimensions
content: H x W x D: 14.6 x 21 x 10.2 cm (5 3/4 x 8 1/4 x 4 in.)