Classic Arsi Headrest

The Arsi are an Oromo people living more or less in the geographical center of Ethiopia. They are believed to have migrated to the region they currently occupy around four centuries ago from the Horn of Africa, an area which today is solidly Somali. The Arsi are traditionally herders who also grow some crops. Their headrests come in a small variety of forms of which this particular example is the dominant type. A narrow, deeply curved saddle is joined to an equally narrow, elongated oval base with four pillars, the inner pair seemingly referencing stylized feminine legs. In fact, I have seen examples which went a step further, including an unmistakable sexual detail that was clearly not a later addition. Sure, the genital reference could have been outside of the strict cultural context — a humourous, or even obsessive, creative act — but whatever the motive, the existence of such a work suggests that the leg-like quality of the central supports is or was seen by at least one Arsi individual as evocative of the female form. $475

6.5″

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