Ethiopia: Tribal used Old African Ethiopian Authentic Gurage Headrest.
size are 15 cm x 15 cm.

This headrest was used by its owner to preserve his or her elaborate hairstyle during sleep. The reddish-brown object is composed of two elements carved from a single piece of wood: a double-cone base and a crescent-shaped platform. Tapered at the ends, the rest area at top is smooth and retains an oiled surface gained through frequent close contact with the head and hair dressings.

Personal objects, headrests support the head by cradling it along the jawline, elevating it from the ground. While some regions of central and southern Africa associate headrests with dreaming and divination, they are purely practical in eastern African. Ergonomically, they align the spine, while functionally, they protect intricate hairstyles from dust or from being flattened. Hairstyles, which can take hours to create, are not simply for beautification, but serve as the visual representation of their wearer’s social status, age, rank, and gender.

The personal nature of the headrest is reflected in the vocabulary used to describe them in two of Ethiopia’s most commonly spoken languages. In Amharic, they are known as yagertera (“pillow of my land”), while in Oromiffaa, they are called boraatiz(“tomorrow-you”). (Moreno 2015, 194) Even after the end of their useful life, headrests retain the traces of their owners; several examples in the Metropolitan’s collections have a dark sheen on the upper platform and sides, the result of the wood becoming imbued with butter-based hair dressings (käbbe) and other materials used to shape and condition the hair.

For similar piece and recommended reading see Dewey William, J., . SLEEPING BEAUTIES-THE JEROME JOSS COLLECTION OF HEADRESTS AT UCLA