A Rare and Exceptional Carved Headrest ‘Kali Hahapo’

A Very Fine and Rare Headrest ‘Kali’ or ‘Kalimasi’ / ‘Kali Toloni’ Bamboo, wood, coconut ‘sennet’ fibre The ‘cross-bar’ (rest) engraved with triangular design reminiscent of ‘Tapa C...

A Rare and Finely Carved Egyptian Wooden Headrest with a Carved Head to both Sides Representing the God ‘Bes’ (Protector of the Homestead) above Carved...

A Rare Anthropomorphic Tsonga Headrest An old paper label: ‘African Pillow Bt. Webster. Sep 1897. P.’ Fine colour and patina through use Wood, pigment, paper label Zimbabwe 19th...

An Unusually Large and Fine Tsonga ‘Antelope’ Headrest Wood, pigment, glass beads Zimbabwe 19th Century SIZE: 20cm high, 32cm wide - 8 ins high, 12½ ins wide PROVENANCE: Ex Pri...

An Exceptional Eastern Cape Nguni Pipe Bowl and Stem Wood, metal Old inscription and dated: ‘1892’ South Africa 19th Century Size: 45.5cm long - 18 ins long Published: ‘The ...

A Rare and Historically Important Artefact Recovered from HMS Adventure in 1775 after Captain James Cook’s Second Voyage to the Pacific A ‘coconut husker’ made by a ship’s carpenter aboard HMS Adventure in the style and design of a Native Islander’s ethnographical ‘coconut husker’ An engraved and inscribed copper plaque: A memento from The Sandwich Islands Coconut Husker used aboard HMS Adventure and recovered from The Royal Dockyard Deptford 1775 Oak, iron, brass, copper, handmade iron screws Fine rich colour and patina England / Sandwich Island 18th Century SIZE: 15.5cm high, 49.5cm long, 20cm wide (max) - 6¹⁄₈ ins high, 19½ ins long, 7⁷⁄₈ ins wide (max) Provenance: Found in a Scottish attic after centuries of lying hidden in a crate Ex Private Scottish collection Captain James Cook’s second voyage aboard the Resolution and accompanied by HMS Adventure set sail in July 1772. The discovery of the southern eight islands of the Sandwich Islands group was in 1775. The given name was chosen in honour of John Montagu, 4th Earl of Sandwich, First Lord of the Admiralty. The copper plaque and inscription however should not be read as The Sandwich Islands ‘Owhyhee’ (The Hawaiian Islands) which were later discovered on January 18th, 1778, on Captain Cook’s third voyage. Rather the inscription refers to ‘South Sandwich Islands’ lying to the south east of South Georgia and only renamed later with the word ‘South’ to distinguish them from the ‘Sandwich Islands’ now known as the Hawaiian Islands. Not withstanding during Cook’s second voyage he visited Easter Island, Tahiti, Society Islands, Niue, Tonga, New Hebrides, New Caledonia, Norfolk Islands, Palmerston Island and South Georgia. The crew onboard having been exposed to various types of ‘coconut huskers’ adapted those designs into the example we now see, having been rescued from HMS Adventure in 1775. A rare example of 18th century cross...

Dinka stylized animal form carved wood headrest, East Africa. On three "legs" with curved top. Deep patina from handling and use. 12 1/2 inches long, Created mid 20th century or e...

So as not to muss their intricate hairstyles, tribal leaders would rest their heads on these petite wooden stands. The combination of conic base and concave rest gives these function...

A good example of an African Ashanti tribal headrest. Ghana. Early to mid-twentieth century.

Showing a crescent shaped headrest braced by flattened 'V' shaped supports rising from a cupped base, decorated overall with hand carved linear motifs and exhibiting an old rubbed su...

A wonderful small early 20th century Ashanti tribal stool, headrest. Carved from a single piece of wood. Well worn and genuine tribal stool or headrest.

This fine early twentieth-century headrest, from the Zulu culture in South Africa, was previously part of a selection of exceptional Southern African art in the Terence and Bernice P...