Images(2)

Headrest (xikhigelo)

Artist Artist Unknown

Datecirca 1875–1905

MediumWood

Dimensions6 1/2 x 8 11/16 x 3 in. (16.5 x 22.1 x 7.6 cm)

ClassificationsWood

Credit LineGift of Nancy Battle Foster

Object number2016.22.1

On View

Not on view

Label TextThe headrests and snuff container, were often collected to commemorate European and American travels to Africa during the 19th and early 20th centuries. Due to their small size, they were easily placed in suitcases and carried back from travels abroad.

Though diminutive in size, this exquisite headrest and snuff container illustrate that even practical items of everyday use were artistically embellished. This beauty communicated their importance to those that owned them, as well as the owner’s status to those that encountered them.
(A. Maples, installed February 2019)
ProvenanceCollected by Marcus Milton Bridgers (1868–1935), Mpumalanga province (formerly Eastern Transvaal), South Africa, ca. 1897–1905; exported to United States, early 20th century; by descent to Nancy Battle Foster, Greensboro, NC; given to NCMA, 2016.
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