Oceanic: Papua-New Guinea. Yuat (Biwat) River, Mundugumor (?). War Shield. Wood, pigment, fibers, cassowary feathers. Height...

Description

Oceanic: Papua-New Guinea
Yuat (Biwat) River, Mundugumor (?)
War Shield
Wood, pigment, fibers, cassowary feathers
Height: 65 ¾ inches Width: 17 1/8 inches

Though this war shield is probably more recent than some examples, related shields were collected from the Mundugumor as early as 1912/13 (Berlin expedition), with Margaret Mead collecting a further similar example in the area in 1933/34. These shields are unusually sculptural, with the nose areas of the three faces in this example projecting outward for several inches and all the relief carving being crisply defined.
"Chris Boylan (personal communication, October 2000) obtained information from Beta Omang of Akuran village that the shield is called pakei. The faces on the shield represent a powerful spirit called Raram and the dentate elements around the eyes represent spears (damvro)" (Harry Beran and Barry Craig, eds., Shields of Melanesia. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press, 2005, p.100).
There is slight loss of pigment and some shedding of fibers. The back shows numerous surface abrasions.

Provenance: Gary Hendershott, Little Rock



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