Special headrest (No reserve price)

03
days
04
hours
26
minutes
35
seconds
Current bid
€ 3
No reserve price
FR
€3

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The ‘Special headrest’ is an original wooden headrest decorated with cowrie shells and metal, measuring 17 × 15 × 10 cm, with provenance from a gallery or antique dealer.

AI-assisted summary

Description from the seller

Beautiful old headrest
with cowrie shells

Cowrie shells meaning:
• Currency and Trade: cowries served as a currency, standard trading medium, and tax/dowry payment method up until the 20th century.
• Wealth and Status: Because they were durable, portable, and hard to counterfeit, possessing strings of cowries signified high economic standing, power, and abundance. Kings, chiefs, and royalty adorned crowns, thrones, and garments with them.
• Spiritual Protection and Divination: Many communities use cowries as protective amulets against negative energy and the evil eye. Spiritual practitioners and diviners (such as in Yoruba Ifá traditions) also cast cowrie shells to read patterns and deliver guidance from ancestors or Orishas.

Beautiful old headrest
with cowrie shells

Cowrie shells meaning:
• Currency and Trade: cowries served as a currency, standard trading medium, and tax/dowry payment method up until the 20th century.
• Wealth and Status: Because they were durable, portable, and hard to counterfeit, possessing strings of cowries signified high economic standing, power, and abundance. Kings, chiefs, and royalty adorned crowns, thrones, and garments with them.
• Spiritual Protection and Divination: Many communities use cowries as protective amulets against negative energy and the evil eye. Spiritual practitioners and diviners (such as in Yoruba Ifá traditions) also cast cowrie shells to read patterns and deliver guidance from ancestors or Orishas.

Details

Material
wood, cowrieshells, metal
Condition
Excellent condition
Title of artwork
Special headrest
Height
17 cm
Width
15 cm
Depth
10 cm
Weight
456 g
Provenance
Gallery / Antique dealer
Authenticity
Original/official
Sold by
The NetherlandsVerified
469
Objects sold
97.67%
Private

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