Gurage Wood Headrest, Ethiopia

Two small holes, one long crack, and a face that has clearly been around.

This carved wood headrest is Gurage, from Ethiopia, East Africa. The Gurage live in the highlands of southern Ethiopia, where wood carving, farming and the cultivation of the enset plant are long-established parts of life. This carved slab has a deep, dished top edge stained nearly black and sides that bow slightly outward. Two small round holes pierce the face, a vertical split runs through the lower half, and the surface is dry and flaky. It is 6.5 inches wide, 2.75 deep and 6.5 high.

Cracked, pierced, and calmly standing its ground.