Tall, Slender Duck-Footed Karamojong Headrest

This splay-footed, conjoined double-legged style of headrest is consistently ascribed to the Karamojong of northeast Uganda. Other styles of headrest from the region where South Sudan, Uganda, Ethiopia and Kenya meet are often identified as Karamojong/Turkana or even Karamojong/Pokot/Turkana. This is because several specific headrest forms appear to be endemic to the broader region rather than to any particular ethnic group, having been collected from and field-photographed with individuals of several ethnolinguistic groups. To my knowledge, this style stands alone as having only been collected among the Karamojong. The style is an older one; aside from a few fakes, the known examples seem to have been mostly collected between 1910 and 1960. Many, including this example, have a pass-through hole from front to back in the center just below the saddle, through which a loop of European-manufactured watch chain has been threaded to create a handsome and durable carry-strap. The exceptional example was found years ago in England and has since passed through the hands of two collectors and back to me. $800

7″

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