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1928.69.635

Shield made from hide painted with white designs.

1928.69.635

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Collection type
Object
Description
Shield made from hide painted with white designs.
Long description
Shield made from hide painted with white designs. The shield is rectangular in shape and bent in the centre. The front of the shield has been painted with a design of eight concentric circles with crosses in the centre and horizontal and vertical lines in white pigment. The back of the shield has an elaborate cane work handle attached to the shield at four points through perforations in the hide. Twisted plant fibre is attached at one end. The edges of the shield are damaged in places. [FC 18/08/2010]
Geographical reference
India
Asia > Southern Asia > India
Cultural groups
Phom Naga
Konyak Naga
Person
Field collector James Philip Mills
PRM source James Philip Mills
Date / Period
Date made: Before 1923
Date collected
1923
Acquisition information
Loaned: 10/1924 Donated: 1928
Materials and processes
Material Animal Hide Skin, Material Pigment, Material Cane Plant, Material Plant Fibre Yarn, Process Painted, Process Perforated, Process Woven, Process Twisted, Process Knotted
Dimensions
Width: max 435 mm, Length: max 770 mm
Object numbers
Accession number: 1928.69.635
Research and responses

During a visit of Naga elders and tribal leaders in June 2025, members of the delegation identified misspellings of village names and incorrect tribal affiliations for objects or ancestors associated with certain villages. In consultations with Mr Ngongba Tange Thamlong Phom, Vice President of the Phom Peoples’ Organization, ‘Kamahu’ was identified as Yongshei, a Phom Naga village in Longleng District, Nagaland. For all objects listed as from ‘Kamahu’ the modern placename ‘Yongshei’ has been added to the region field and ‘Phom Naga’ has been added to the cultural group field. [EW 19/08/2025]

Associated publications
Reproduced in colour on page 251 (right) of The Nagas - Hill Peoples of Northeast India: Society, Culture and the Colonial Encounter, by Julian Jacobs with Alan Macfarlane, Sarah Harrison and Anita Herle (London: Thames and Hudson, 1990). [SM 06/10/2011]

Search terms: Weapon, Shield

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