Somali Wood Barshin or Headrest

A pale, honey-colored crescent on two slim legs, burnished by long use.

This barshin or headrest is Somali, from Ethiopia, East Africa. It is carved wood. Headrests are made across East Africa, and among Somali and neighboring pastoral peoples they are generally used to support the neck during sleep and to protect a coiffure. Headrest with a long, gently curved top whose ends rise like a shallow smile. Two tapered legs descend to a small rectangular foot. The surface is a mottled honey brown with darker streaks and a soft, rubbed glow. It is 2.5 inches wide, 5.5 deep and 6.5 high.

Graceful, slender, and clearly built for lying down on the job.