Shield, late 19th / early 20th century ·  Indonesia - Sulawesi, Gulf of Tomini or Kulawi · ID: 3053181

Description

wood, black paint, nassa shell, animal fur, base

According to Barbier, these exceptionally narrow shields were used in war dances that included mock sword combats, as seen in an early photograph from 1919/20 (see Benitez & Barbier, 2000, p. 156, ill. 81).

The triangular inlays are said to have originally been made of bone, while the decorative tufts were crafted from real human hair. The latter were reportedly taken from the victims of the shield’s owner.

The object Shield, late 19th / early 20th century with the object ID 3053181 was last part of the auction Auction 106 at April 25, 2026 on Zemanek-Münster Auction house. The object with the lot number 137 achieved a sales price of EUR 1,500.

You can find more Shields and other popular object types on our related topic pages. You may also be interested in our page on Asian art.

Comparing literature

Barbier, Jean Paul & Purissima Benitez-Johannot, Shields, Munich, London, New York 2000, p. 156 f.