African Woven War Shield

A monumental, rare and important Oceanic Papuan Asmat People tribal carved war shield from the first half of the 20th century, collected from the coast of the headhunting tribe in Papua New Guinea, a Provincial Indonesian island in the mid 20th century. Among the Asmat, war shields are the most powerful symbolic element of a warrior's equipment, and have many layers of meaning. Traditionally, they were functional items used to protect warriors in battle by deflecting an enemy's spears and arrows. The carved and painted images on the surface of the shields were also intended to frighten the enemy and symbolize the power of the ancestors. Ancestral imagery appears on multiple forms of Asmat art...

Handwoven Bogolan mud cloth textile from Mali, Africa, Bambara. It is a handwoven tribal cotton fabric traditionally dyed with fermented mud. Woven Afr...

Old Pende giwoyo mask with red pigments, black and white beard with carved triangles and woven black raffia hair cap The mask is 13 1/4 inches high, on custom...

A rare and important Oceanic Papuan Asmat tribal carved ancestral sago bowl (also known as a platter, serving shield and tray) crafted in the likes of the...