Shield ·  Ethiopia, Amhara · ID: 3036737

Description

probably made from giraffe-, gazelle-, or antelope skin, stretched with brown velvet and decorated with punched metal sheet ornaments, wooden handle stretched with red leather, rep. (fixation of the handle), slight traces of usage and abrasion;
the carrying of weapons was the pride of every self-respecting Amhara. A more or less magnificently decorated shield was a distinctive mark of every brave warrior. In the course of time they were transformed into purely decorative objects of imperial dignitaries.

Comparing literature

Zirngibl, Manfred A. & Dieter Plaschke, Afrikanische Schilde, München 1992, p. 70