Western Australian Wunda Shield-Aboriginal Art-Oceanic Art
It is hard to convey the red and black colors on this large lightwood wunda shield from Western Australia. I photograph the shield to highlight those elongated vertical zigzag carved design that is so classic to the genre, but it unfortunately doesn’t bring out the, albeit subtle colors. The backside is another matter, as both the rich red ochre and equally elongated zigzag carved lines pop out beautifully. This is an old shield, and it was old when collected in the 1920s by a man from Kittyhawk, North Carolina. The piece has been passed down by descent and is on the market for the first time in about 100 years. The shield dates to the mid to late 19th century, is 40 ¼” (102.3 cm) in height and sells for $4800