The royal treasuries of Zulu kings and chiefs in South Africa included beadwork, staffs, thrones, pipes, and neckrests like this one, sculpted from a single piece of wood. In the 19th and early 20th centuries, neckrests formed part of a Zulu bride’s dowry. She (or her father) usually hired a sculptor to design two of the objects, one for herself, the other for her future husband. A bride needed hers to protect an elaborate coiffure, styled with mud and ochre, which she wore as a sign of respect for her new in-laws and her husband’s ancestors. Women from the Zulu kingdom stopped wearing such hairstyles during the 20th century, explaining why few headrests are commissioned today.

Zulu headrest styles vary greatly, but many share a cow-like form. The gently bowed, four-legged shape of this neckrest may allude to a bull. Among the Zulu, cattle have been a traditional source of wealth as well as a means of maintaining contact with ancestors (through specially designated cattle in the homestead’s cattle byre). Older headrests, like this one, also served as a link between family members and their deceased relatives, remaining in the homestead for generations, protected from insects through constant exposure to smoke in the rafters of the cooking area.