Skip to Main Content

War Shield

c. 1940
painted wood
Overall: 176.5 x 60.3 x 7 cm (69 1/2 x 23 3/4 x 2 3/4 in.)
Gift of The May Company, Cleveland 1963.554
Location: not on view
This artwork is known to be under copyright.

Download, Print and Share

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.
War Shield

War Shield

c. 1940

Melanesia, Irian Jaya, Asmat people, 20th century

See Also

Visually Similar Artworks

Contact us

The information about this object, including provenance, may not be currently accurate. If you notice a mistake or have additional information about this object, please email collectionsdata@clevelandart.org.

To request more information about this object, study images, or bibliography, contact the Ingalls Library Reference Desk.

All images and data available through Open Access can be downloaded for free. For images not available through Open Access, a detail image, or any image with a color bar, request a digital file from Image Services.