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

wood, black paint, rattan, nassa snails, hair,

According to Barbier, these distinctly narrow shields were used for war dances that included show-fights with the sword, as can be seen in an old photograph from 1919/20.

The shield is made from a single piece of light wood and was originally inlaid with triangular sections of bone and nassa shells. The hair that decorates the shields is said to have been of human origin in earlier times, supposedly from the victims of the owner of the shield.
H: 109 cm, H: 42,9 inch

Provenance:
German Collection

Lit.: Barbier, Jean Paul & Purissima Benitez-Johannot, Shields, Munich, London, New York 2000, p. 157, ill. 60
Continent: Asia
Condition Report: See description