Amhara / Sidamo Warrior’s Shield
Ethiopia
A shield constructed along a vertical axis, the form organised as a compressed circular volume with a central domed boss and concentric incised registers radiating across the frontal surface.
Description
A small domed boss at the centre is surrounded by a lobed rosette in relief, from which concentric bands of fine radial hatching alternate with plain recessed bands, extending outward to the rim. Two pairs of small raised knots are set symmetrically on either side of the boss. A border band of triangular hatching runs just inside the rim, framing a field of scattered small perforations across the surface. A leather loop is fitted at the rim, associated with wall display.
Surface is compact and stable. Incised definition is retained across the surface; perimeter binding remains intact.
Context
Shields of this type functioned within systems of personal protection for close combat, carried by Ethiopian warriors alongside firearms during the late nineteenth century, including the period of the Battle of Adwa (1896).
Provenance
From the Felice Maffei Collection, acquired in Ethiopia, 1982.
Details
- Title
- Amhara / Sidamo Warrior’s Shield
- Culture
- Amhara / Sidamo
- Origin
- Ethiopia
- Date
- Late 19th century
- Dimensions
- Diameter 46 cm (18.1 in) · H 15 cm (5.9 in)
- Medium
- Hippopotamus hide
- Provenance
- From the Felice Maffei Collection, acquired in Ethiopia, 1982.
- Condition
- Surface stable; incised definition and structural form preserved.
