Wood, pigments, lime.

Mendi people.

Nipa Valley Southern Highlands, Papua New Guinea.

Provenance:

– Former Chris Boylan Collection, Sydney

– The Jolika Collection by Marcia & John Friede, Rye, New York

Literature : Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco. De Young. 2017

New Guinea Highlands. Art From the Jolika Collection

Reproduction page 143, Illus. 6.33

The shields of the Nipa Valley are generally not carved but only painted. The most common design is a central band, decorated with part and the other with two semicircles. This shield features a rarer pattern, with a central circle in white on a red background. Other shields in the Nembi Valley may have a reverse decoration with a red circle on a white background. According to Chris Boylan, the circle would correspond to the center of a navel, which gives anthropomorphic significance to the design of the shield.