Gurage Wood Headrest, Ethiopia

Darker at the top, pale at the foot, and stained with drips running down from the rim.

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. Flaring form with a broad crescent top in near-black, shading down into golden brown. The foot is a flat band with visible joinery marks. Small nicks and fine scratches mark the sides and top. It is 7 inches wide, 4 deep and 5.75 high.

A little marked up, and gently worn in the right places.