Antique Wooden Tribal Luba Hand Carved African Headrest W/ Figures Congo, Africa

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Antique Wooden Tribal Luba Hand Carved African Headrest W/ Figures Congo, Africa:
$36.00

This isan antique, wooden, African,Luba,headrestwhich wastribally hand carvedfrom a single piece of wood.This African headrest was made and used by the Luba people and was collected in the Congo. African tribal people have always usedtheirintricatehairstyles to proudlyserve as the visual representation of their wearer’s social status, age, rank, and gender. The elaborate tribal hairstyleswhich can take many hours to createare often embellished with beads, shells, butter and colored pigments. Most tribal hairstyles therefore require the use of a headrest which was used primarily to support the neck in order to protect and preserve the hours of labor intense hair styling as the head could not be directly laid uponduringsleep and rest. Using the headrest helped to preservethe hairstyles for up to three months. Headrests were brought with the owner everywhere they went so they could be used whenever required and in the case of men were often worn on their belt.

This African headrestmeasures 8 inchesacross the top and8 inchestall.Fair condition with damage to one figure\'s hair design with pieces of wood missing.Neck rests in the Luba culture are objects that display high status and serve as cherished belongings for the Luba elite. When sculpted female figures support the neck rest, these figures are politically symbolic, as the Luba are a matrilineal culture meaning the family name and inheritance come through the mother’s side of the family, and the figures reinforce the legitimacy of that person’s inherited status.This specimen is verydesirable and would make a fine addition to any Africancollection. I combine shipping on multipleitems so be sure to check out my store where I have thousands of items to browse. For buyers of multiple items please email me when you are done shopping for your custom made invoice with combined shipping & insurance fees.