Rare war shield "koraibi" ("kurabit")

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Description

lightweight wood, red and black pigment, coconut shell, missing parts (long sides)

Jerome Feldman remarked on “koraibi” shields: “Warfare and headhunting utilize the fully-armed Mentawai warrior, himself a great display of diverse art forms. He is tattooed, painted, ornamented with feathers and beads, and equipped with armaments that have a unique sense of design”.

Mentawei shields are characterised by their unusual shape, narrow, slightly curved and tapering towards the bottom. They are usually painted on both sides, especially with spiral motifs (“patogalik”), complemented by lizards and human figures in “rock painting style”. A typical feature is a circular cut-out in the area of the handle, which is closed by coconut shell.

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Comparing literature

Wiggers, Frank & Bruce Carpenter, Mentawai Art, Singapore 1999, p. 30 f.

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