Somali Neckrest, ca. 1925

Appraised on: June 12, 1999

Appraised in: Birmingham, Alabama

Appraised by: John Buxton

Category: Tribal Arts

Episode Info: Unique Antiques (#1120)

Originally Aired: November 19, 2007

IMAGE: 1 of 1  

Appraisal Video: (1:56)

APPRAISER: Martin, I understand you're the owner of the piece--

GUEST 1: Yes, that's right.

APPRAISER: --and you are a sixth-grade school teacher. And you've been using this in school?

GUEST 1: Yes, I take it to school when we study countries that use headrests. And I let my students pass it around and look at it, so they can be familiar with what a headrest really is.

APPRAISER: Well, now, before I get into this, are you all willing to go out on a limb? Is it real or is it a reproduction?

GUEST 1: Sure, that's why we came, we want to know.

APPRAISER: Okay, this is a real piece. As you know, a neckrest is like a pillow. It goes under the back of the head and quite often, it is used by women who have these very elaborate coiffures that are assembled with mud and oils, and they keep the same coiffure for months.

GUEST 1: Yeah.

APPRAISER: So this keeps their head off the ground and their coiffure intact. Now, as we can see on this, there's a wonderful patination, here, where it's been used, down on the edges. And as we lift it up, we can see that this has indeed rested on the ground. Now, one other thing that we should note. These are Islamic designs, and you have a wonderful blending of Africa and Islam. The country is Somalia. It's probably 1920s, 1930s, so it's not very old, but it definitely has been used. Now, a neckrest like this, this would be worth $500 to $700.

GUEST 1: Wow.

APPRAISER: So is that a reasonable investment?

GUEST 1: Sure, I paid a couple bucks for it.

APPRAISER: I'd say two bucks to 500 to 700 is a good investment.

GUEST 1: Thank you.

APPRAISER: Well, thank you so much for coming in.

GUEST 2: Thank you, John.