Shield ·  Ethiopia, Amarro · ID: 3033345

Description

animal skin, dark brown patina, circular form with punched straight lines and circular raisings, completely decorated with ornamental incisions, big handle on the rear, min. dam., traces of usage;
the large handles were already borrowed in the distant past from the double-handled Islamic round shields. The shields in use today invariably have only a single grip centered in the middle, so that it is possible to push the shield up the arm almost to the shoulder.
Frequently rubbing far into the shiny, darkly coloured surface ensured elasticity and resiliance.

The object Shield with the object ID 3033345 was last part of the auction 70th tribal art auction at September 8, 2012 on Zemanek-Münster Auction house. The object with the lot number 498 achieved a sales price of EUR 1,000.

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

Zirngibl, Manfred A., Plaschke, Dieter, Afrikanische Schilde, München 1992, p. 69