West New Guinea Highlands Ritual Shield Eipo Area-New Guinea Art-Oceanic Art
This ancient shield is one of a small handful from the Eipo area of New Guinea’s Central Highlands located in West Papua. John Friede publishes two in his “New Guinea Highlands: Art from the Jolika Collection” book, fig. 6.45 & 6.46. These are fashioned from a dense hardwood with projecting vertical handles but appear to be more ritual objects than functional war shields. Old shields sometimes end up as part of elaborate pig skull shrines in the neighboring Mountain Ok culture area around Telefomin. This particular shield is superb with regards to both age and aesthetics with a deeply carved design and bold remains of traditional pigments. It dates to the late 19th/early 20th century, is ex. Singer Collection, stands 34 ½” (87.7 cm) in height. The price is available upon request.