Early shield ·  Papua New Guinea - East Sepik Province · ID: 3051934

Description

wood, pigment residues, signs of old age and weathering, wood brittle in places, cracked

According to Barry Craig, this shield seems to be closely related in design to those of the Manambu and the Kwoma. He would however suggest, that it was made a little north or northeast of the Kwoma, perhaps the Kaunga or Kwasengen speakers.

Craig explains that the upper and lower sections of the shield are much more elaborately decorated with geometric designs (“stool” figures) than is usual for Kwoma and Manambu shields. He points to the Urat language group living further north in the eastern Torricellis around Dreikirkir, which also uses “stool” figures on their shields and similar geometric fields in their designs.

The object Early shield with the object ID 3051934 was part of the auction Auction 104 on April 12, 2025, lot number 140 at that time and is currently available for EUR 3,000 in Open sale.

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

Beran, Harry & Barry Craig (ed.), Shields of Melanesia, Honolulu 2005, p. 87, Fig. 4.21