Rare metal shield "upwal" · Kenya, Turkana · ID: 3046768
not available anymore
Size
H: 53,5 cm/ 85 cm (carrying pole)
H: 21.1 inch/ 33.5 inch (carrying pole)
Description
sheet-iron (front side cleaned), wood, animal skin/ sinews,
Shape and design are reminiscent of the typical shields of the Turkana, which were made of animal skin (mostly from giraffe, antelope, hippo or buffalo).
In his book “Geheimnis Afrika” (1979) Heinrich Harrer reports about such a metal sign, which hung in the mission station in Kakuma.
The object Rare metal shield “upwal” with the object ID 3046768 was last part of the auction 95th Tribal Art Auction at October 24, 2020 on Zemanek-Münster Auction house and had the lot number 317.
You can find more Shields and other popular object types on our related topic pages. You may also be interested in our page on African art.
Comparing literature
Baur, Ivan & Jan Elsen, Guba, Brussels 2002, p. 33, ill. 4