Artwork Page for War Shield

Details / Information for War Shield

War Shield

c. 1940

Melanesia, Irian Jaya, Asmat people, 20th century

Medium
painted wood
Measurements
Overall: 176.5 x 60.3 x 7 cm (69 1/2 x 23 3/4 x 2 3/4 in.)
Credit Line
Gift of The May Company, Cleveland 1963.554
Copyright
Copyright
This artwork is known to be under copyright.
Location
Not on view
Print

Description

The carving of war shields was celebrated by the Asmat with a special feast, which was immediately followed by a headhunting raid. Each shield was named after an ancestor, who inspired strength and courage in the new owner. Shields were carved from the buttress roots of mangrove trees and decorated with raised symbolic designs. Their surfaces were painted white (lime), red (ochre), and black (charcoal). Motifs frequently carved on shields include squatting ancestors and fruit-eating animals such as flying foxes and hornbills. Fruits are considered analogous to human heads, and thus fruit-eaters symbolize headhunting ancestors. Tassels made from large sago palm leaves once hung from the shield's edges.
Teardrop shaped wooden war shield with a flattened lower edge and raised organic patterns in red and worn away white paint, outlined in black. A central pattern features two lines, one above the other, curving out at the top and bottom.

War Shield

c. 1940

Melanesia, Irian Jaya, Asmat people, 20th century

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