Shield "olono", before 1915

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Description

buffalo-hide, colour pigments, old handwritten inscription on paper on the back, only fragmentarily preserved, remains of an old collection label ibid

Beautiful old example of a Masai shield “olono”. Two original repair marks testify to its long use.

The shield must have belonged to a proven warrior herder “moran” who used it to protect his community and herd. Only experienced warriors were allowed to use red colour to paint the shield. It was traditionally obtained by mixing earth in blood or the sap of the Solanum Campylae fruit.

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Comparing literature

Zirngibl, Manfred A. & Dieter Plaschke, Afrikanische Schilde, München 1992, p. 38, ill. 18

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