Unknown artist
Asmat Shield
Artwork Detail
The Asmat live in south-west Irian Jaya and are among the finest Melanesian artists. This war shield is decorated with stylized flying foxes and has an ancestor’s face at the top. (Te Moananui a Kiwa)
Almost all known Asmat carvings date from after European contact during the nineteenth century, and vast numbers were collected by traders after the Second World War. (Te Moananui a Kiwa, 2005)
- Title
- Asmat Shield
- Artist/creator
- Production date
- Unknown
- Medium
- wood, pigment, plant fibres
- Dimensions
- 1530 x 390 x 70 mm
- Credit line
- Chartwell Collection, Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki, 1988
- Accession no
- C1994/1/248
- Copyright
- Copying restrictions apply
- Department
- International Art
- Display status
- Not on display
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