Hango war shield

This finely-proportioned shield is slightly wider at the top.
It is covered with a sheet of bark fastened in a zigzag pattern by a rattan vine.
The front is decorated with a linear motif in whitewash, topped with broken lines. This shield illustrates Daniel Vigne’s film, in which a tribal elder gives the definition of the motifs represented.
According to the Kamano, the motif refers to a small insect called Sissi kafa, which begins to sing just before dawn.
The moment when one can prepare or expect an attack against an enemy.
The broken lines on the top of the shield represent gardens and their water channels. For a similar model see Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco.
De Young. 2017

New Guinea Highlands. Art From the Jolika Collection.
Page 288

Price: €12,000

sold without base