Neck Rests from East Africa

Artists Unknown

I purchased this collection of neck rests during my time in Kenya, in the mid-nineties. Every Tuesday I would see a variety of neck rests at an open city market in Nairobi, called the Massai Market. Although this market was mostly comprised of crafts made and sold by Massai women, people sold a large assortment of items brought in from rural Kenya.

Seeing these unique items sparked my collector’s interest and I made it my goal to find varieties and designs from different tribes. Back then I could have easily filled a shipping container with this collection. However, these seem to be becoming rare, as I did not see many during my most recent visit to East Africa.