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Shield, Ngake, 19th–early 20th century
Wood, pigment
80 x 25 x 2 cm (31 1/2 x 9 13/16 x 13/16 in.)
The Marcia and John Friede Collection, a Promised Gift to the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco L05.1.98

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Artist Biography: (none) PROVENANCE: "Collected by Lord Moyne (Walter E. Guinness) before 1935." (Catalog #127, New Guinea Art: Masterpieces from the Jolika Collection of Marcia and John Friede, 2005, Volume 2, p. 102.) PUBLICATIONS: 2005 - "The mask or face of an important mythical ancestor is always carved prominently in the central panel of these shields. Ndaro (Imro) is the general name of this central figure in the Rao religion (Kasprus, 1973). The large motif, rendered in mirror-view on both sides of the central panel, is thought to be specific to a particular family group. As with Kominimung (above), the Rao clan emblems usually represent an entity related to the clan of the shield wearer. It may be a butterfly, mumnrasu. According to Smidt's fieldwork, the 'eyes' are said to be the eyes of the bird of paradise, a circular shape within a diamond, and stars, as well as the eyes of ancestors. Lord Moyne describes the discovery of these shields in Moyne and Haddon, 1936: 287-289. See Smidt, 1990, cat. 92, for a detailed discussion and illustration of a similar small shield. For other examples, see Tischner, 1939, fig. 67; Guiart, 1963, fig. 198; and Kelm, 1968, vol. 3, figs. 401-13." (Catalog #127, New Guinea Art: Masterpieces from the Jolika Collection of Marcia and John Friede, 2005, Volume 2, p. 102.)

Related Keywords
Ngake Shield Francisco San Museums Arts Fine Gift Promised 102 p 2 Volume 2005 Friede John Marcia Jolika Masterpieces Art 127 Catalog 1935 Guinness E Walter Moyne Collected people Rao Oceania Province Madang Guinea New Papua Melanesia Armor Arms pigment Wood Mayne Lord by col Muller Kroller See 0709200406050427 A361013 L05.1.98 AOA