Miniature shield ·  Ethiopia, Oromo · ID: 3036887

Description

leather, conical vaulted form, two bronze studs influenced by Arabian sources holding the handle at the back, min. dam., traces of usage;
of unusual design, the shield was carried by the Oromo (Galla), in southern Ethiopia, as well as by the peoples of Somalia. Similar miniature versions, which were probably made on a lathe, were also used in ritual knife fights in the bordering area of southern Arabia across from the East Horn of Africa.

The object Miniature shield with the object ID 3036887 was last part of the auction 77th tribal art auction at June 28, 2014 on Zemanek-Münster Auction house and had the lot number 544.

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Comparing literature

Zirngibl, Manfred A. & Dieter Plaschke, Afrikanische Schilde, München 1992, p. 58, ill. 42