Nuer headrest
Other views of this artifact:
Accession Number:
1917.25.39
Country:
Sudan
Region:
[Southern Sudan]
Cultural Group:
Nuer
Date Made:
By 1917
Materials:
Wood Plant
Process:
Carved , Stained , Polished , Decorated , Perforated , Pyroengraved Pokerwork Burnt
Dimensions:
Ht = 202, seat L = 270, W = 34.8, th = 40.5; leg diam = 17.8 to 22 mm [RTS 3/6/2005].
Weight:
280.9 g
Local Name:
köm?
Other Owners:
This object was collected by Robert Grenville Gayer-Anderson, probably in the period immediately before World War I, sometime between 1909 and 1914 [RTS 1/6/2004].
Field Collector:
Robert Grenville Gayer-Anderson
PRM Source:
Robert Grenville Gayer-Anderson
Acquired:
Donated 1917
Collected Date:
By 1917
Description:
Headrest carved from a single piece of wood, stained reddish brown (Pantone 469C).
This is an example of 'found form', with a naturally grown branch specifically chosen because its shape, with subsidiary branches coming off the main stem to form the three feet, was suitable for making a headrest.
It is probably intended to be zoomorphic, and consists of a narrow seat that runs horizontally across the top and that is concave along its length and very slightly convex across its width.
This has an elongated 'neck' at the front, that tapers slightly and has a rounded end.
This has a single perforation burnt through the wood at its tip, and then 2 angled holes bored from the top surface out through either side of the seat.
The back of the seat also tapers slightly, but is cut flat at its end; this is suggestive of a 'tail' and has been decorated with 2 pyroengraved grooves burnt into the wood of the upper surface, just behind the back leg.
The sides of the seat curve down to an angular ridge that runs along its underside.
Three branches extend from the underside to form the legs, with 2 legs at the front end, splaying out in opposite directions, and the third leg extending almost vertically down from the back.
The front legs have been decorated with grooves that spiral around their body; these cover the lower third of one leg, with some partially cut sections at the top, and almost all of the other.
The back leg has a raised ridge carved around it upper part, which corresponds in part to a natural swelling in the wood.
The legs have slightly rounded bases that show signs of wear.
The headrest is complete, but cracked along the seat and down the legs.
It has a weight of 280.9 grams and is 202 mm high; the seat is 270 mm long, 34.8 mm wide and 40.5 mm thick, while the legs have a diameter of from 17.8 to 22 mm.
This object was collected by Robert Grenville Gayer-Anderson, probably in the period immediately before World War I, sometime between 1909 and 1914. It was said to have come from the 'Sudan-Abyssinian border'. This suggests that it probably came from one of the eastern Nuer groups close to the Ethiopian border, such as the Eastern Jikany.
Similar leg ribbing is seen on 1917.25.40, and is a feature seen on some of the headrests found across the border in Ethiopia. This type of lightweight headrest, made from a tree branch, is produced by a number of Nilotic groups; for further Nuer examples, see 1917.25.40, 1931.66.17-18, 1932.30.1, 1936.10.56, 1937.34.49 and 1948.2.128; for Dinka examples, see 1934.8.17, and for examples from the Anuak, see 1936.10.55.
Objects like these were used by men to protect their elaborate hairstyles. Willis described the Nuer practice of covering their hair with a paste made of clay, cow dung and urine, and then shaping it into the desired style, such as a cock's comb, or a peak at front or back. This treatment gradually wears off, staining the hair a reddish colour, and then the hair needs to be redone. Domville-Fife describes a similar process for the Shilluk in some detail, although amongst that group hair is dressed by a specialist barber, and is a costly process (C.W. Domville Fife, 1927, Savage Life in the Black Sudan, pp 71-76).
Rachael Sparks 22/08/2005.
This object was collected by Robert Grenville Gayer-Anderson, probably in the period immediately before World War I, sometime between 1909 and 1914. It was said to have come from the 'Sudan-Abyssinian border'. This suggests that it probably came from one of the eastern Nuer groups close to the Ethiopian border, such as the Eastern Jikany.
Similar leg ribbing is seen on 1917.25.40, and is a feature seen on some of the headrests found across the border in Ethiopia. This type of lightweight headrest, made from a tree branch, is produced by a number of Nilotic groups; for further Nuer examples, see 1917.25.40, 1931.66.17-18, 1932.30.1, 1936.10.56, 1937.34.49 and 1948.2.128; for Dinka examples, see 1934.8.17, and for examples from the Anuak, see 1936.10.55.
Objects like these were used by men to protect their elaborate hairstyles. Willis described the Nuer practice of covering their hair with a paste made of clay, cow dung and urine, and then shaping it into the desired style, such as a cock's comb, or a peak at front or back. This treatment gradually wears off, staining the hair a reddish colour, and then the hair needs to be redone. Domville-Fife describes a similar process for the Shilluk in some detail, although amongst that group hair is dressed by a specialist barber, and is a costly process (C.W. Domville Fife, 1927, Savage Life in the Black Sudan, pp 71-76).
Rachael Sparks 22/08/2005.
Primary Documentation:
Accession Book Entry
[VI, p.
54] - 1917 [pencil insert] 25 [end insert]
MAJOR R.G.
GAYER-ANDERSON
, R.A.M.C.
The Lodge, Old Marston, Oxon [pencil insert, p.
55] 38-41 [end insert] - [1 of] 4 wooden headrests, Nuer tribe, Sudan-Abyssinian frontier.
Additional Accession Book Entry [page opposite 54] - A gift to the Pitt Rivers Museum in memory of Major R.G. Gayer-Anderson, Pasha, his twin brother Colonel J.G. Gayer-Anderson, C.M.G., D.S.O.
Card Catalogue Entry - There is no further information on the tribes catalogue card [RTS 23/7/2004].
Related Documents File - Two letters dated 30/03/1917 and 13/04/1917 from the donor to Henry Balfour regarding the donation of the collection to the museum [EB 12/11/2001]. These indicate that the material was collected by Robert Gayer-Anderson himself, chiefly from the areas of Nuba, Kordofan and Bahr el Ghazal during 5 years he spent in the Sudan, and that they were given to the museum as an unconditional gift [RTS 5/12/2003]. The note in the accession book calling this gift 'in memory of' R.G. Gayer-Anderson is therefore somewhat enigmatic, as both Robert and his twin brother (Thomas G., not J.G.) were alive at the time of the transfer [RTS 5/12/2003].
Pitt Rivers Museum label - AFRICA, Sudan-Ethiopian frontier, Nuer tribe. Wooden headrest. Coll. R.G. Gayer-Anderson, don. 1917. 1917.25.39 [plastic coated label, tied to object; RTS 31/5/2005].
Written on object - NUER head-rest. SUDAN-ABYSSINIAN frontier. d.d. Major R.G. Gayer-Anderson, 1917 [RTS 31/5/2005].
Additional Accession Book Entry [page opposite 54] - A gift to the Pitt Rivers Museum in memory of Major R.G. Gayer-Anderson, Pasha, his twin brother Colonel J.G. Gayer-Anderson, C.M.G., D.S.O.
Card Catalogue Entry - There is no further information on the tribes catalogue card [RTS 23/7/2004].
Related Documents File - Two letters dated 30/03/1917 and 13/04/1917 from the donor to Henry Balfour regarding the donation of the collection to the museum [EB 12/11/2001]. These indicate that the material was collected by Robert Gayer-Anderson himself, chiefly from the areas of Nuba, Kordofan and Bahr el Ghazal during 5 years he spent in the Sudan, and that they were given to the museum as an unconditional gift [RTS 5/12/2003]. The note in the accession book calling this gift 'in memory of' R.G. Gayer-Anderson is therefore somewhat enigmatic, as both Robert and his twin brother (Thomas G., not J.G.) were alive at the time of the transfer [RTS 5/12/2003].
Pitt Rivers Museum label - AFRICA, Sudan-Ethiopian frontier, Nuer tribe. Wooden headrest. Coll. R.G. Gayer-Anderson, don. 1917. 1917.25.39 [plastic coated label, tied to object; RTS 31/5/2005].
Written on object - NUER head-rest. SUDAN-ABYSSINIAN frontier. d.d. Major R.G. Gayer-Anderson, 1917 [RTS 31/5/2005].
