Figural headrest "musamo" ·  D. R. Congo, Luba, Shankadi-Bena Sungu, Kiloko of Bussangu · ID: 3049703

Description

wood,

The present headrest is a work of the master carver Kiloko of Bussangu.A very similar work by the artist illustrated in Dewey 1993, p. 68, fig. 63 (AHDRC 0031714).

Headrests were certainly used by their sleeping owners to help preserve the elaborate coiffures the Luba are noted for. A style such as the Shankadi cascade was styled over a canework frame, it took almost fifty hours to complete, and with the use of a headrest at night, it could last two to three months.

The object Figural headrest “musamo” with the object ID 3049703 was part of the auction Sale 100 on April 15, 2023. The object with the lot number 80 achieved a sales price of EUR 2,100 with an asking price of EUR 2,000.

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Comparing literature

Dewey, William J., Sleeping Beauties, Los Angeles 1993, p. 68, ill. 63