Shield
ClassificationsArms and Armor-shields
Culture
Melpa
Date20th Century
Made AtWestern Highlands Province, Papua New Guinea
Collection SiteMt. Hagen, Western Highlands Province, Papua New Guinea
MediumWood, fiber and pigment
Dimensions52 5/8 × 22 × 6 3/8 in. (133.7 × 55.9 × 16.2 cm)
Credit LineAnonymous Gift
Object number2017.10.150
DescriptionLittle is written on the shields of Mt. Hagan Highland’s Melpa tribe, but due to the proximity of groups in the Mt. Hagan area there was a lot of trading of ideas between these groups and so the shields of the area surrounding Mt. Hagan all share a number of features. Full sized war shields almost all had rattan binding or other decorative distinction along their top edge, here we can see that the original rattan is intact. The size is also consistently large, around 60 in. in height and at least 20 in. wide, meaning that width-wise this piece is rather thin. Perhaps the dimensions of Melpa shields tend towards being smaller in stature than those of neighboring groups. The neighboring Wahgi word for these shields was kumbe reipe, roughly meaning wooden wall. The tree was cut and split with wedges into the desired shape. When dry it was sanded down with leave and holes were bored so that a fiber rope shoulder harness could be attached. The knotting used leaves a distinctive triangle or square depending on whether three or four holes were used. Designs were rarely incised, but rather painted geometric shapes in black, white, yellow, red, and blue.On View
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