19th Century Aboriginal Parrying Shield

Fine early 20th Century hand spun indigo cotton and Trans-Sahara silk cloth.

Ivory Coast hand spun cotton natural indigo cloth, circa 1930-1950.

Hand dyed Yoruba (Nigeria) cloth from the Esie area, 1950s.

Good 19th century sailor's chest in richly patinated teak, the top opening to reveal a candle till with lid which functions as a support for the open lid, over canted carcass, the co...

A handsome 19th century swift with beautiful fruitwood base on ball feet and matching turned acorn finial, brass centre rod and wooden collapsible ribs with original silk ties. Used ...

Good 19th century copper pot with rolled lip, wrought iron handle, the dovetailed seam having brass solder, the whole with great scale and ideal si...

Early 19th century Nigerian Shield/Currency. Actual currency from Nigeria used to buy livestock, businesses and homes. Beautifully mounted to display the Shape and scale of the piec...

A tall and narrow parrying shield from the Aboriginal people living in the Western Australia. The piece was carved out of a single block of hard wood t...

Exceptional Gbilija Shield from the Zande tribe- DR CONGO Museum Quality Very rare piece in perfect condition. Exceptional piece and museum quality (see photos please) Period: 19th C...

This large, impressive nineteenth-century Ethiopian throne, from the Wollega Oromo culture, features a high, upright back-rest. An attractive cut-ou...

This is a very good example of a 19th century Zanzibar storage chest. The chest was created in the mid-19th century. The teak case is adorned with cut and open work brass strapping i...

Stunning and rare Omani tribal necklace in gold and silver featuring eight Burgau thalers dated 1780. 19th century. Very good condition. Preserved and professionally framed. Dimensions of the necklace: 52 x 30 x 3 Dimensions of the frame: 70 x 47 x 5 Secure shipping. This fine Omani necklace of silver and gold comprises two strands of spiky, seed pod-like silver beads; gold-wrapped beads; eight silver Maria Theresa thaler coins; and a large silver and gold amulet box, with multiple chain tassels each of which finishes with a square-shaped pendant cut from sheet silver. The cigar-shaped amulet box called hirz would have contained some Koranic verse or religious text. Such a spectacular display of wealth would only have been worn at times of important festivities such as marriage celebrations. Maria Theresa thalers were made in Austria since the reign of Empress Maria Theresa of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. The Empress died in 1780 and since that time, all thalers that were subsequently struck were minted with that date regardless of the actual year that they were produced. The coins achieved such a level of trust for their silver content (which is 83.3% silver) in the Middle East that neither the design not the date was varied, and so for more than 200 years the coins were used as an international currency among the tribes and the states of the Middle East, in much the same way as the Spanish dollar was used as an international currency at the time elsewhere. The thalers were used to complete most important transactions locally and were also given as dowries. They were also an important source of silver and were melted locally for jewellery. The coins made their way to the ports of the Red Sea, Egypt and northern Africa from the ports of Genoa, Trieste, Livorno and Marseille. European traders used the coins to buy precious materials from the Gulf and northern Africa which it desired – commodities such as spices, coffee, gum Arabic, indigo, pearls, and tortoise shell. The importance and the beauty of the coins saw them incorporated into local jewellery most particularly in Oman and Yemen. References Al-Jadir, S., Arab & Islamic Silver, Stacey International, 1981. Harrigan, P., ‘Tales of a Thaler’, Saudi Aramco World, January/February 2003. Hawley, R., Omani Silver, Longman, 1978. Hawley, R., Silver: The Traditional Art of Oman, Stacey International, 2000. Rajab, J.S., Silver Jewellery of Oman, Tareq Rajab Museum, 1998. Ransom, M., Silver Treasures from the Land of Sheba: Regional Yemeni Jewelry...