Dinka Wood Headrest

Plainly, a three-legged head rest with a wing-like top, sturdy as a camp stool.

This carved wooden headrest is Dinka, from East Africa, and dates to the 19th century. It is wood. The Dinka are a Nilotic cattle-herding people of the Nile basin in South Sudan, and carved wooden objects are generally made for personal use rather than for sale. Placed center frame, a small seat-like form with a flat, flared top that rises to pointed tips at the ends. Three thick, angled legs splay beneath it, with one darker area of smoke-like staining. The surface is reddish brown with a worn, lightly scarred finish. It is 5.75 inches wide, 6.5 deep and 5.4 high.

Wide shoulders, short temper, and impeccable balance.