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Source Description
Headrests allowed Shona men to protect their elaborate braids. Placed under the neck or chin, frequent contact with hair and hairdressing products darkened its top. Tool marks show how it was smoothed only where the skin would make contact. Linked intimately to their owner, headrests often became burial goods or heirlooms. Recent research suggests Shona headrests symbolized women; small projections on the supports likely reference scarification marks worn by women of marrying age. As only mature men used headrests, it reinforces their female symbolism and women’s societal importance as wives.
Scholar Source Context
Document identity
localId
102921
label
Headrest
core
obj
dtoType
object
pageCount
1
Source metadata
id
102921
contentType
object
title
Headrest
description
Headrests allowed Shona men to protect their elaborate braids. Placed under the neck or chin, frequent contact with hair and hairdressing products darkened its top. Tool marks show how it was smoothed only where the skin would make contact. Linked intimately to their owner, headrests often became burial goods or heirlooms. Recent research suggests Shona headrests symbolized women; small projections on the supports likely reference scarification marks worn by women of marrying age. As only mature men used headrests, it reinforces their female symbolism and women’s societal importance as wives.
date
c. 1910
rights
CC0
rightsUri
CC0
language
en
wikidata
Q79504306
genreSpecific
Furniture and woodwork
imageCount
1
source
import
dimensionsRaw
Overall: 13.4 x 17.8 cm (5 1/4 x 7 in.)
cul
Southern Africa, Zimbabwe or Mozambique, Shona-style blacksmith-carver
accession
1921.1548
Source extras
tec
wood
tombstone
Headrest, c. 1910. Southern Africa, Zimbabwe or Mozambique, Shona-style blacksmith-carver. Wood; overall: 13.4 x 17.8 cm (5 1/4 x 7 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Gift of W. A. Price, 1921.1548
collection
African Art
creditline
Gift of W. A. Price
updatedAt
2026-05-29 05:33:34.432000
sourceId
102921
dept
African Art
coll
African Art
med
wood
thumbnail_url
image_url
Single page context
seq
1
pageIndex
0
type
photo
mediaId
7cd43baea282fdfb