Canoe shield "kaminimbit" ·  Papua New Guinea - Sepik · ID: 3035139

Description

trapezoid cane structure, encased with barkcloth, forming three tongue-shaped projections, painted with kaolin, red and black pigment, a small wooden mask in the centre, framed by tufts of cassowary feathers, slightly dam. (forehead and nose of the mask), missing parts (projection in the midde, lower rim), paint rubbed off, socle;
two cane sticks at the bottom for fixing the shield-shaped ornament to the stem of a canoe. They were only used in war times and should protect the passengers of the boat.

The object Canoe shield “kaminimbit” with the object ID 3035139 was last part of the auction 73rd tribal art auction at May 25, 2013 on Zemanek-Münster Auction house and had the lot number 40.

You can find more Shields and other popular object types on our related topic pages. You may also be interested in our page on Oceanian art.

Comparing literature

Meyer, Anthony J.P., Ozeanische Kunst, Vol. I, Köln 1995, p. 296