Headrest "musamo" - Luba - DR Congo

Luba 'musamo' headrest
Democratic Republic of the Congo
Max height: 13.5 cm
Period: early 20th century (1900–1920)
Materials: wood (Chlorophora excelsa)
Provenance: tribal art dealer Jos Humblet - Belgium

As Mary Nooter Roberts notes, 'wooden headrests were commonly used by the Luba of previous generations to protect their elegant hairstyles while sleeping. The hairstyles of the figures (caryatid headrests) that support them reflect 19th-century fashion. The headrests were objects of extreme intimacy and held great personal value for their owners, who regarded them as sacred and were sometimes buried with them.' (Body Politics: The Female Image in Luba Art and the Sculpture of Alison Saar, UCLA Fowler Museum of Art, Los Angeles, 2000, p. 35, fig. 35)

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