19 Wooden headrest
New Kingdom (1550-1069 BC)
This object came to the museum before 1945, but its provenance is lost. This is often the case with excavated material, and the condition of the piece suggests that it came directly to the Museum from a site rather than a private collection. The headrest is made of wood and is in three parts. The lower area of the platform has eight sides, the wider sections being on the front, back and sides. This slightly concave pattern continues on the support and in a much more discreet form on the oval base.
The central support has two tenons joining it to the other two parts, the lower tenon being held by a small wooden peg. There are also traces of plaster over the headrest. Although the sections are now loosely joined, it appears that the headrest was designed to lean towards the head of the user. This form of headrest and manufacturing technique are typical of the New Kingdom.
The Fitzwilliam Museum, E.W. 69