Artist:Asmat
Medium: Wood, pigment
Geograhical Locations:
Dates:20th century
Dimensions: 80 x 20 1/2 x 3 1/4 in. (203.2 x 52.1 x 8.3 cm)
Collections:
Accession Number: 62.55.11
Image: 62.55.11.jpg,
Catalogue Description: Oval-shaped shield, relief carved and thickly painted, with one flat end and one pointed end. The paint colors are black, red-orange, and white. The greatest portion of the shield is made up of 4 connected, loosely crafted, graphic relief patterns. The patterns are essentially two sets of curvilinear, m-like, "mirror images, "each with double lines carved in relief. Three inset triangle shapes are along the edge of each side. A plain band of black is at the flat end of the shield; an uncarved triangular area is at the pointed end which is loosely bisected from the apex with paint, black on one side and red-orange on the other. Four rows of irregular shaped white dots originating at the apex pass through the black painted side; another row separates the triangular end from the major relief-carved portion of the object. Condition: Overall, the shield shows signs of wear. On the proper right side near the flat end, and at the very tip of the pointed end, a small portion has broken away.