Headrest: Female Caryatid Figure 19th century Master of the Cascade Coiffure The Luba peoples occupy a land of rivers and savanna in the southeast of what is today Democratic Republic of Congo. As early as the seventeenth century, the Luba headed an extensive, centrally organized state structured on the principles of divine kingship and rule by council. The widespread trade networks in the region produced individuals of great wealth and prestige who commissioned fine works of art for personal and political use.Used by a member of the Luba elite, this diminutive sculpture elevated the head of its resting owner. Its function may appear prosaic but it served an important purpose by protecting the sleeper's elaborate coiffure, itself a work of art requiring some fifty hours to create. Here, the artist has composed a playful visual pun by emphasizing and enlarging the swooping curves of the sculpted figure's own hairstyle, mirroring the equally elaborate hair designs it helped to preserve.T