Leather Shield with Elaborate Repoussé Adornment
Nuer / Dinka, South Sudan
Antelope leather, wood
Early 20th century

This battle shield from the Nuer is made from a large piece of leather stretched over a long wood pole. The Nuer, one of the largest Nilotic language groups, live mostly in Jonglei, with dry season cattle camps along the Nile and the Sobat Rivers (Southern Sudan, Pitt Rivers Museum online). 

The Dinka live in the region of the upper White Nile and are an important culture in southern Sudan. Like this piece, shields carried by Dinka men were tapered to a point on one end, made of antelope hide, and covered with worked impressions (Plaschke & Zirngibl, Afrikanische Schilde / African Shields, 1992).

52 in :: 132 cm

InventoryID #13-2452

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