Years in the making, Headrests from Southern Africa – The Architecture of Sleep ( 5 Continents ) is a substantial and richly illustrated publication of 440 pages, featuring 438 headrests from the KwaZulu-Natal, Eswatini and Limpopo regions of southern Africa, the book offers detailed historical knowledge specific to each region, and unique personal information collected from many of the original owners or carvers of the headrests.

Alongside the images of the headrests themselves are 135 photographic portraits of those owners – and on occasion, the carvers – of these beautiful sculptural objects.

The headrests are brought to life with wide-ranging insights into their creation, ownership, use and significance. In marked contrast to practices that classify cultural artefacts and people according to ‘tribal, groupings, Headrests of Southern Africa: The Architecture of Sleep recognises the individuals who owned and made these items of daily use, revealing the deeply personal relationship between headrest and human being.

Including original contributions by field collectors Bruce Goodall, Mavis Duma and Clive Newman, art historians Karel Nel and Nessa Leibhammer, and collector Frederic Zimer, the book is an important reference for anyone interested in Africa and its material culture, including museum curators, African art collectors and scholars.