Headrest

2680 B.C. - 2420 B.C.

Ancient Egyptians often slept with their heads on wooden headrests, while stone examples were placed under the head of a mummy as it lay in a coffin. Such pillows offered protection to "he who went to sleep" (the deceased) by keeping malevolent spirits at bay. Headrests changed little throughout the three millennia of Egyptian civilization and are similar to those still being carved in parts of East and West Africa today.

Alabaster

9 x 8 x 3 5/8 in. (22.8 x 20.3 x 9.2 cm)

Eugene Fuller Memorial Collection

52.46

Provenance: (Possibly from Sakkarah, vicinity of Temple of the Step Pyramid); [M.A. Mansoor & Sons, Cairo / New York / Heliopolis]; purchased from gallery by Seattle Art Museum / Eugene Fuller Memorial Collection, Seattle, Washington, December 4, 1951, in exchange for two objects returned in January, 1950; Accessioned by Seattle Art Museum, Seattle, Washington, January 21, 1952

Not currently on view

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