New Georgia Island, Western Province, Solomon Islands
Mid-19th century
Wood
Length 9.6 in (24.5 cm); height 4.25 in (10.8 cm)
Provenance: Collection of Sir John Everett Millais, London; Speak Bequest, UK; William Ohly, Berkeley Galleries, London, and Abbey Museum, Hertfordshire, UK, and thence by descent
Headrests from New Georgia in the Western Solomon Islands are among the most carefully carved functional objects of the Pacific. They were used to support the head while protecting elaborate hairstyles, while also carrying ancestral and regional imagery into a domestic object of daily use. This example is carved with opposing ancestral heads at each end, supporting an arched pillow form above frieze panels with traditional motifs including frigate birds in flight.
An old iron ink inscription on the underside reads “New Caledonia * Speak Bequest” with collection number 1932–468, preserving an early collecting history even though the form is Solomon Islands. The provenance traces to Sir John Everett Millais, then through the Speak Bequest and William Ohly, whose Berkeley Galleries were influential in presenting African and Oceanic objects in Britain. The piece brings together functional design, ancestral imagery, and a documented passage through nineteenth- and twentieth-century British collections.
We ship free anywhere in the world, fully insured, packed by hand.
New Georgia Island, Western Province, Solomon Islands
Mid-19th century
Wood
Length 9.6 in (24.5 cm); height 4.25 in (10.8 cm)
Provenance: Collection of Sir John Everett Millais, London; Speak Bequest, UK; William Ohly, Berkeley Galleries, London, and Abbey Museum, Hertfordshire, UK, and thence by descent
Headrests from New Georgia in the Western Solomon Islands are among the most carefully carved functional objects of the Pacific. They were used to support the head while protecting elaborate hairstyles, while also carrying ancestral and regional imagery into a domestic object of daily use. This example is carved with opposing ancestral heads at each end, supporting an arched pillow form above frieze panels with traditional motifs including frigate birds in flight.
An old iron ink inscription on the underside reads “New Caledonia * Speak Bequest” with collection number 1932–468, preserving an early collecting history even though the form is Solomon Islands. The provenance traces to Sir John Everett Millais, then through the Speak Bequest and William Ohly, whose Berkeley Galleries were influential in presenting African and Oceanic objects in Britain. The piece brings together functional design, ancestral imagery, and a documented passage through nineteenth- and twentieth-century British collections.
We ship free anywhere in the world, fully insured, packed by hand.
Image 1 of 11
Image 2 of 11
Image 3 of 11
Image 4 of 11
Image 5 of 11
Image 6 of 11
Image 7 of 11
Image 8 of 11
Image 9 of 11
Image 10 of 11
Image 11 of 11