Headrest

between 1850 and 1950

Yaka, African

Not On View

Image Only Image + Details All Images High Resolution TIFF Metadata

About the Artwork

Please note: This section is empty
Markings

Please note: This section is empty

This section contains information about signatures, inscriptions and/or markings an object may have.
Provenance

Please note: This section is empty

Provenance is a record of an object's ownership. We are continually researching and updating this information to show a more accurate record and to ensure that this object was ethically and legally obtained.

For more information on provenance and its important function in the museum, please visit:
Exhibition History

Please note: This section is empty

The exhibition history of a number of objects in our collection only begins after their acquisition by the museum, and may reflect an incomplete record.

We welcome your feedback for correction and/or improvement.
Published References

Please note: This section is empty

We regularly update our object record as new research and findings emerge, and we welcome your feedback for correction and/or improvement.
Catalogue Raisonné

Please note: This section is empty

A catalogue raisonné is an annotated listing of artworks created by an artist across different media.
Credit Line for Reproduction

Please note: This section is empty

The credit line includes information about the object, such as the artist, title, date, and medium. Also listed is its ownership, the manner in which it was acquired, and its accession number. This information must be cited alongside the object whenever it is shown or reproduced.

About the Artwork

This beautiful headrest made by the Yaka of Zaire supported the wearer's neck so that his or her elaborate coiffure would not be destroyed while sleeping. The headrest is supported on the back of a pangolin (also called the scaly anteater) whose scaly body is suggested by the many brass studs. This animal was sacred to many people in Zaire for its extraordinary appearance and for its ability to roll itself up in a hard ball to prevent harm from even such a powerful enemy as a leopard. Pangolin scales are used as protective charms against evil.

Title Headrest

Artwork Date between 1850 and 1950

Artist ----------

Life Dates ----------

Nationality Please note: Definitions for nationality may vary significantly, depending on chronology and world events. Some definitions include: Belonging to a people having a common origin based on a geography and/or descent and/or tradition and/or culture and/or religion and/or language, or sharing membership in a legally defined nation. African

Culture Please note: Cultures may be defined by the language, customs, religious beliefs, social norms, and material traits of a group. Yaka

Medium Wood, brass studs, copper and brass wire

Dimensions Overall: 6 7/8 × 9 1/2 inches (17.5 × 24.1 cm)

Classification Sculpture

Department African Art

Credit Founders Society Purchase, Eleanor Clay Ford Fund for African Art

Accession Number This unique number is assigned to an individual artwork as part of the cataloguing process at the time of entry into the permanent collection. Most frequently, accession numbers begin with the year in which the artwork entered the museum’s holdings. For example, 2008.3 refers to the year of acquisition and notes that it was the 3rd of that year. The DIA has a few additional systems—no longer assigned—that identify specific donors or museum patronage groups. 78.76

Markings

Inscriptions ------

Provenance

George Ortiz

Baron F. Rolin (Brussels, Belgium). (Morton, Gallery Lipkin, New York, New York, USA)

1978-present, purchase by the Detroit Institute of Arts (Detroit, Michigan, USA)

For more information on provenance and its important function in the museum, please visit:

Provenance page

Exhibition History

Please note: This section is empty

The exhibition history of a number of objects in our collection only begins after their acquisition by the museum, and may reflect an incomplete record.

We welcome your feedback for correction and/or improvement.

Suggest Feedback

Published References

George Ortiz Collection. Sales cat., Sotheby Parke-Bernet. New York, June 29, 1978, lot 51, (ill.).

“Family Art Game,” Detroit News (May 18, 1986): p. 33 (ill.) [DIA Advertising Supplement].

African Masterworks In The Detroit Institute of Arts. Washington and London, 1995, no. 65.

At Home in Africa: Design, Beauty and Pleasing Irregularity in Domestic Settings. Exh. cat., the Galleries at Cleveland State University. Cleveland, 2014, p. 13, 16 (ill.).

Kindly share your feedback or any additional information, as this record is still a work in progress and may need further refinement.

Suggest Feedback

Catalogue Raisoneé

Please note: This section is empty

Credit Line for Reproduction

Yaka, African, Headrest, between 1850 and 1950, wood, brass studs, copper and brass wire. Detroit Institute of Arts, Founders Society Purchase, Eleanor Clay Ford Fund for African Art, 78.76.