Leather Shield with Elaborate Repoussé Adornment
Nuer, South Sudan
Water buffalo hide, 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). A related example that was collected in 1937 in the Pitt Rivers Museum can be seen here. 

43.5 in :: 110 cm

InventoryID #13-1851

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