Excellent example of a Moluccas shield, also known as a Salawaku. From Seram or Beru Island.
Fitted with a sizeable grip carved from the block, shields of this type were employed in war dances and were doubtless sturdy enough to deflect sword blows. Their decoration consists of fragments of mother-of-pearl and piece of shell inlay. The hourglass shape waisted in the middle and wider towards the top and base seems to be specific to the whole of eastern Indonesia.
Dating from the first half of the last century. Unfortunately there are some shells missing as you can see in the photographs.
For a closely related example previously in the collections of Morris J. Pinto and Alain Schoffel, see Chaffin and Chaffin, ed., Arts Primitifs de L’Asie du Sud-est, Paris, 1982, pl. 93, p. 104.
Another similar example sold by Bonhams:
https://www.bonhams.com/auctions/24946/lot/36/
Fitted with a sizeable grip carved from the block, shields of this type were employed in war dances and were doubtless sturdy enough to deflect sword blows. Their decoration consists of fragments of mother-of-pearl and piece of shell inlay. The hourglass shape waisted in the middle and wider towards the top and base seems to be specific to the whole of eastern Indonesia.
Dating from the first half of the last century. Unfortunately there are some shells missing as you can see in the photographs.
For a closely related example previously in the collections of Morris J. Pinto and Alain Schoffel, see Chaffin and Chaffin, ed., Arts Primitifs de L’Asie du Sud-est, Paris, 1982, pl. 93, p. 104.
Another similar example sold by Bonhams:
https://www.bonhams.com/auctions/24946/lot/36/