ARANDA SHIELD

ARANDA SHIELD

Central Australia

66 cm. long

An old painted inscription on the shield reads: "Aranda Zentr. Australien Mc.Donell Gebirge ehm. Sml. G. Liebler Hpt-Lehrer in Kitzingen 1911 ges. II/1570."

The inscription indicates that the shield came from the McDonnell Ranges area (in the Northern Territory, near Alice Springs), was formerly in the collection of G. Liebler, head-teacher in Kitzingen (Bavaria), and was donated in 1911. To which museum or institution is unkown.

Liebler is a well-known name in the field of Australian ethnography. Pastor Oskar Liebler served at the Hermannsburg Mission between 1910 and 1913 during which time he collected and sold more than 1,500 Arrernte artefacts, many to the South Australia Museum and ethnographic museums in Hamburg, Munich and Stuttgart. It is not known if G. Liebler was related to Oskar Liebler but the date of its donation suggests that a family link is highly likely.