Gurage Wood Headrest, Ethiopia

Flaring like a trumpet bell, with a dished top that curls up at both ends.

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. A conical, heavily textured base narrows to a short neck that opens into a long, sweeping top with raised tips. The surface is covered in fine ridges and small pits, in a warm, mottled brown with a slight sheen. It is 6.5 inches wide, 4.25 deep and 5.5 high.

Rough hewn, softly shiny, and entirely sure of its curve.