Headrest
date: label: Date
content: 11th-14th century
name: label: Maker
content: Tellem artist
notes: label: Label Text
content: In the Bandiagara cliffs, above the villages now occupied by the Dogon people, carved wooden headrests have been found in burial caves. The Dogon, who do not now use headrests, attribute them to the Tellem, former inhabitants of the region from the 11th to the 16th centuries. Rogier Bedaux, who has excavated in the burial caves, asserts that headrests "do not occur in Dogon contexts."
label: Label Text
content: Tellem headrests that have been excavated from documented cave sites have elegant silhouettes but minimal decoration. Other undocumented examples, are adorned with circles, zigzags or other geometric designs. Although unusual, some headrests have animal heads projecting from either end of the curved upper platform. The heads resemble those found on trough-like containers and benches of the contemporary Dogon. This example is unusual because of the projecting iron spike that clearly indicates that it was not intended for an ordinary headrest.
label: Description
content: Wood headrest with iron spike projecting from curved top on a curving rectangular base with three support pillars. Headrest has animal head on one end.
label: Provenance
content: Harold Rome, New York
label: Provenance
content: Eliot Elisofon, New York, before 1969 to 1973
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 Please note that some records are incomplete (missing image or content descriptions) and others reflect out-of-date language or systems of thought regarding how to engage with and discuss cultural heritage and the specifics of individual artworks.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: Animal
label: Topic
content: male
setName: label: See more items in
content: National Museum of African Art Collection
creditLine: label: Credit Line
content: Bequest of Eliot Elisofon
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of African Art
identifier: label: Object number
content: 73-7-19
objectType: label: Type
content: Decorative Arts
objectRights: label: Restrictions & Rights
content: CC0
physicalDescription: label: Medium
content: Wood, iron
label: Dimensions
content: H x W x D: 10.2 x 24.1 x 8.9 cm (4 x 9 1/2 x 3 1/2 in.)