Description
Book SynopsisHeadrests from Southern Africa - The architecture of sleep presents the subject of southern African headrests in a fascinating new light. The book, richly illustrated – often with in situ photographs, offers unique historical and personal information collected from many of the original owners and carvers of the headrests. So, for the first time African headrests are brought to life with detailed information and the stories of their creation, ownership, use and significance.
The 438 headrests from the collections of Bruce Goodall from Cape Town and Frédéric Zimer from Paris are presented according to 3 geographical areas: KwaZulu-Natal, Limpopo (where the Ntwane people live) and Eswatini (formerly known as Swaziland).
Since 2003, Goodall has made numerous field trips collecting, as well as interviewing and photographing the owners and carvers of headrests. In 2017, Goodall’s collection grew substantially with the purchase of a comprehensive collection of headrests from the Msinga area of KwaZulu-Natal. This collection had been assembled and meticulously documented by the late Anglican priest Clive Newman and his friend and assistant, Mavis Duma, between the late 1980s and the mid-2000s. The Zimer collection has been built up since the 1990s through his many travels in Africa, and his acquisitions from collectors and African art dealers around the world.
This publication not only offers insight into the personal and historical dimensions of this important southern African tradition through the text written about the headrests and their owners by Bruce Goodall, but includes essays by Newman, Nel and Leibhammer and a text about collecting by Duma. Together these facilitate a penetrating understanding of these valued items as well as a respectful appreciation of the cultures and individuals who made and used them.
Table of Contents7 Foreword Bruce Goodall 11 Preface Frédéric Zimer 13 Introduction Sandra Dodson 17 Zulu Headrests of the Msinga District in KwaZulu-Natal Clive Newman 23 Climbing Mountains and Crossing Rivers Mavis Duma 27 The Architecture of Sleep: The Significance of Headrests Karel Nel 41 From Generic to Specific: Locating Headrests in History Nessa Leibhammer 60 Map 63 The KwaZulu-Natal Region Bruce Goodall [65] Northern Msinga - Including Pomeroy [129] Southern Msinga - Including Muden [189] West of Msinga [253] Bergville and Surrounding Regions [281] Nongoma and Surrounding Regions [297] Early Collected Headrests 311 Eswatini and Outlying Areas Bruce Goodall 377 The Limpopo Region Bruce Goodall 430 Notes 432 Bibliography 434 Glossary 436 Biographies
