Headrest (Amba Ragat)
ClassificationsFurnishings-Furniture-headrests
Culturepossibly
Murik
Culturepossibly
Iatmul
Date20th Century
Made AtEast Sepik Province, Papua New Guinea
MediumWood
Dimensions4 3/8 × 13 × 2 3/4 in. (11.1 × 33 × 7 cm)
Credit LineAnonymous Gift
Object number2019.22.23
DescriptionThis object is a wooden headrest made by the Murik or Iatmul cultures residing in Papua New Guinea's East Sepik Province. Amba ragat translates to “head stool” and they were used by the Iatmul to rest their head or neck while sleeping. Iatmul headrests traditionally feature a plain central cradle for the head. On both sides of the cradle are carved figures that represent animals or ancestral beings. In the Sepik River region, the use of headrests is quite common. Every headrest is unique in design, but the thick central column support of this headrest makes it an outlier even among Sepik headrests.On View
Not on view
