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.

The object Shield with the object ID 3036737 was last part of the auction 77th tribal art auction at June 28, 2014 on Zemanek-Münster Auction house. The object with the lot number 541 achieved a sales price of EUR 300.

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. & Dieter Plaschke, Afrikanische Schilde, München 1992, p. 70