NOA Living’s Headrest Collection offers sculptural objects of quiet power—sacred and refined. Carved by hand from the early to mid-20th century, these pieces originate from Zulu, Dinka, Ethiopian, and other pastoral cultures where headrests held deep spiritual and artistic meaning.

More than functional supports, these forms were conduits between the living and ancestral worlds—personal icons that guarded sleep, fertility, and memory. Their purity of line, geometric harmony, and symbolic projections speak to an aesthetic language both timeless and deeply rooted. Raised patterns like amasumpa, breast-like curves, and tail-like extensions reveal a dialogue between form, cattle wealth, and spiritual abundance.

Like devotional icons in Western tradition, these headrests are objects of reverence—linking body and spirit, past and present. At NOA Living, we present them not only as cultural heirlooms, but as enduring works of art.

Showing 1–20 of 26 artworks

Headrest No. 2250 (Zulu People, Southern Africa)
18.513 x 41 x 6.5 cm Hand carved from a single, hardwood block; the rich patina indicates many decades of daily use. $2,600.00

Headrest No. 2230 (Zulu People, Southern Africa)
13 x 46 x 8 cm Hand carved from a single, hardwood block; the rich patina indicates many decades of daily use. $2,445.00

Headrest (Zulu People, Southern Africa)
12 x 49 x 8 cm Hand carved from a single, hardwood block; the rich patina indicates many decades of daily use. $2,890.00

Zulu Block Headrest, with multi geometric patterns, No.2180 South Africa.
15.5 x 47.5 x 8 cm Acacia species Wood, light honey colored / hand carved. $3,589.00

Headrest No.2170 (Zulu People, Southern Africa)
13 x 47 x 7 cm Hand carved from a single, hardwood block; the rich patina indicates many decades of daily use. $2,440.00

Headrest No. 2140 (Zulu People, Southern Africa)
10 x 42.5 x 8.5 cm Hand carved from a single, hardwood block; the rich patina indicates many decades of daily use. $2,500.00

Headrest No. 2130 (Zulu People, Southern Africa)
10 x 32 x 7 cm Hand carved from a single, hardwood block; the rich patina indicates many decades of daily use. $2,615.00

Headrest No. 2060 (Zulu People, Southern Africa)
16 x 51 x 5 cm $2,235.00

Four legs Headrest, No. 1310 (Dinka People, South Sudan)
6 x 17 x 5 ″ Hand carved from a single, hardwood block. $1,195.00

Headrest No. 1180 (Dinka People, South Sudan)
8 x 17 x 12 ″ Unidentified hardwood species / Hand carved from a single, hardwood block. $885.00

Three Legs Dinka Headrest, No. 1170 (South Sudan)
6.5 x 14 x 9 ″ Unidentified hardwood species / Hand carved from a single, hardwood block. $1,775.00

Headrest , No. 1160 (Dinka People, South Sudan)
9.5 x 15.5 x 10 ″ Unidentified hardwood species / Hand carved from a single, hardwood block. $975.00

Headrest, No.1070 (Dinka People, South Sudan)
7.5 x 18.5 x 7 ″ Unidentified hardwood species / Hand carved from a single block. $1,695.00

Headrest No. 1042 (Zulu People, Southern Africa)
5 x 17.25 x 3 ″ $4,586.00

"Mkhulu Mkwanazi Scallop Buttress No.1041: A Masterful Union of Elegance, Structure, and Zulu Cultural Legacy"
6.5 x 22 x 3 ″ Combertum imberde (Leadwood) wood / Hand carved. $3,660.00

Headrest No. 1038 (Zulu People, Southern Africa)
6.5 x 17.5 x 3.5 ″ $2,890.00

Headrest No. 1027 (Zulu People, Southern Africa)
4.5 x 15 x 2 ″ $4,290.00

Headrest No. 1026 (Zulu People, Southern Africa)
5 x 16 x 3 ″ Hand carved from a single, hardwood block; the rich patina indicates many decades of daily use. $3,890.00

Headrest No. 1025 (Zulu People, Southern Africa)
6 x 14 x 3.5 ″ $3,450.00

Headrest No. 1024 (Zulu People, Southern Africa)
6.5 x 24 x 3.5 ″ $3,850.00