Three Fine Old Headrests from the Tufi Area Oro Province, Papua New Guinea

Three Fine Old Headrests from the Tufi Area Oro Province, Papua New Guinea

These three finely carved Headrest from the Tufi area are called Gira Kukai in the local dialect and are an iconic object from this area. They were used by both Men & Women when sleeping so as not to disturb their finely coiffured hair styles.

The openwork geometric designs remind me of small architectural models.

They are quite unique in being different heights & widths and two of these have incised geometrical designs on the base.

One has to wonder if the person who was going to use the headrest requested a specific height or width for their maximum comfort just as when we shop for just the right pillow height.

All three of these Headrests are well-used and date from the late 19^th to early 20^th Century.   Provenance: The Todd Barlin Collection of Oceanic & Papua New Guinea Art

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