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Neckrests are among the oldest surviving wooden objects in West
Africa. Found in burial caves in the Bandiagara cliffs, high above
Dogon villages, neckrests are attributed to the Tellem people who
preceded the Dogon in the cliff. The Tellem did not live in caves,
but they used some for funerary rituals and burials, and others in
which they built mud-brick granaries for millet storage.
Burial caves contained many objects that were offered as gifts for
the deceased : bowls, potteries, necklaces, bracelets, rings,
and iron staffs. Neckrests may have been objects of high status,
because only a few caves contained them. Curved rest, vertical
support with a projection from the central post, and a rectangular
base, such as this, is a very rare and unusual form (probably
reserved for male burials).
11th-14th century.
Origin :
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Mali (Bandiagara cliffs)
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Type :
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Ritual items
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Ethnic group :
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Tellem / Dogon
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Material :
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Bright-brownish eroded wood
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Size :
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W = 4.5 inches; H = 7.8 inches
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click here. Please notify us with this object id: 2539.
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