Shield "ishilunga" ·  South Africa, Zulu · ID: 3050164

Description

spotted cowhide, wooden pole,

The origin of these shields is usually traced back to the famous warrior-king Shaka Zulu. However, it was probably his mentor, Dingiswayo, who reorganised the Zulu army into age regiments and introduced these cowhide shields.

After the disintegration of the Zulu Empire with the decisive defeat against the British at the Battle of Ulundi in 1879, the shields were no longer used in battle, but only for ceremonial purposes.

The object Shield “ishilunga” with the object ID 3050164 was last part of the auction 101st Auction at November 11, 2023 on Zemanek-Münster Auction house. The object with the lot number 97 achieved a sales price of EUR 450.

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

Barbier, Jean Paul & Purissima Benitez-Johannot, Shields, Munich, London, New York 2000, p. 124, ill. 45