Shilluk shield
Other views of this artifact:
Accession Number:
1903.16.116
Country:
Sudan
Region:
[Southern Sudan]
Cultural Group:
Shilluk
Date Made:
By 1903
Materials:
Wood Plant
Process:
Carved , Hollowed , Stained
Dimensions:
L = 990; diam at one end = 115 x 1107, at other end diam = 84.7 x 75.5; recess L = 93, W = 81, handle W = 33.8 mm [RTS 15/7/2005].
Weight:
903.6 g
Field Collector:
Donald Gunn
PRM Source:
Donald Gunn
Acquired:
Donated 1903
Collected Date:
By 1903
Description:
Parrying shield carved from a single piece of soft, lightweight wood, probably ambatch, with a yellowish coloured core (Pantone 7509C) and an outer covering of of reddish brown bark (Pantone 476C), possibly stained.
This has a cylindrical body with oval section and flat cut ends, one of which is broader than the other.
A rectangular recess has been hollowed out at the centre of one side to form a hand grip, leaving a narrow rectangular piece running across the centre to serve as a handle; the handle has a convex inner face, while the hollow itself is concave to provide room for the knuckles.
The shield is complete, but with a damaged surface, where large areas of the outer bark have been lost and the wood has begun to split.
It has a weight of 903.6 grams and is 990 mm long, with a diameter at one end of 115 by 107 mm, and at the other of 84.7 by 75.5 mm.
The hollow recess is 93 mm long and 81 mm wide, while the handle has a width of 33.8 mm.
Collected by Donald Gunn in the 'Upper Nile' by 1903, which at that time was probably being used to refer to the river.
This shield was collected from the Shilluk, and although the accession notes suggest it may have come from the Bari further upriver, this was probably not the case, as this type of shield was used by the Shilluk as well as by neighbouring groups of Dinka and Nuer (see D. Westermann, 1912, The Shilluk People, Their Language and Folklore, and Plaschke, D. & Zirngibl, M.A., 1992, African Shields , fig. 64, p. 75).
Domville Fife discusses the type in some detail: "[The Shilluk] ... have two kinds of shield. One is a small semicircle of light ambatch wood, used as an arm-guard when lion hunting and also when fighting from canoes or rafts. The other is a large shield of hippopotamus hide ... (C.W. Domville Fife, 1927, Savage Life in the Black Sudan, p. 69 and figure on p. 70).
These shields were often given a hide covering, and served multiple functions as a parrying shield, headrest and stool. Many had hollowed out cavities inside the handle, or at either end, which could be used to store tobacco and other objects. For similar examples in the collection, see 1934.8.31 and 1937.34.44 (Nuer), 1932.30.4 (Rueng Dinka), and 1979.20.80 (Dinka Tuich).
This example is made from ambatch wood ( Aeschynomene sp . ), a type of leguminous shrub found through many parts of Africa, including the Sudan, growing in river shallows to a height of 4 to 6 metres. This wood is light and spongy, making it ideal for this type of object (source: http://www.probertencyclopaedia.com/B1AB.HTM).
Rachael Sparks 23/08/2005.
Collected by Donald Gunn in the 'Upper Nile' by 1903, which at that time was probably being used to refer to the river.
This shield was collected from the Shilluk, and although the accession notes suggest it may have come from the Bari further upriver, this was probably not the case, as this type of shield was used by the Shilluk as well as by neighbouring groups of Dinka and Nuer (see D. Westermann, 1912, The Shilluk People, Their Language and Folklore, and Plaschke, D. & Zirngibl, M.A., 1992, African Shields , fig. 64, p. 75).
Domville Fife discusses the type in some detail: "[The Shilluk] ... have two kinds of shield. One is a small semicircle of light ambatch wood, used as an arm-guard when lion hunting and also when fighting from canoes or rafts. The other is a large shield of hippopotamus hide ... (C.W. Domville Fife, 1927, Savage Life in the Black Sudan, p. 69 and figure on p. 70).
These shields were often given a hide covering, and served multiple functions as a parrying shield, headrest and stool. Many had hollowed out cavities inside the handle, or at either end, which could be used to store tobacco and other objects. For similar examples in the collection, see 1934.8.31 and 1937.34.44 (Nuer), 1932.30.4 (Rueng Dinka), and 1979.20.80 (Dinka Tuich).
This example is made from ambatch wood ( Aeschynomene sp . ), a type of leguminous shrub found through many parts of Africa, including the Sudan, growing in river shallows to a height of 4 to 6 metres. This wood is light and spongy, making it ideal for this type of object (source: http://www.probertencyclopaedia.com/B1AB.HTM).
Rachael Sparks 23/08/2005.
Primary Documentation:
Accession Book Entry
[III, p.
110] - 1903 [pencil insert] 16 [end insert]
DR
D.
GUNN
Esq., M.B.
40 Dover Street, London, W.
June.
[...] [p.
113] - The following from the Shilluk tribe, Upper Nile.
viz: [pencil insert] 116 [end insert] - parrying shield of light wood obtained in the Shilluk country, but probably derived from higher up the river (?from the Bari).
Card Catalogue Entry - There is no further information on the tribes catalogue card [filed under Bari and Shilluk; RTS 23/7/2004].
Pitt Rivers Museum label - AFRICA, Sudan. Shilluk tribe. Wooden parry shield. Coll. D. Gunn. 1903.16.113 [plastic coated label, tied to object; RTS 15/7/2005].
Written on object - SHILLUK COUNTRY, UPPER NILE. Prob. derived from higher up river (?BARI) [insert] * [end insert]. Pres. by Dr. D. Gunn, 1903. [added afterwards] *SHILLUK Club shield v[ide] Westermann pl. DLXVI.
Card Catalogue Entry - There is no further information on the tribes catalogue card [filed under Bari and Shilluk; RTS 23/7/2004].
Pitt Rivers Museum label - AFRICA, Sudan. Shilluk tribe. Wooden parry shield. Coll. D. Gunn. 1903.16.113 [plastic coated label, tied to object; RTS 15/7/2005].
Written on object - SHILLUK COUNTRY, UPPER NILE. Prob. derived from higher up river (?BARI) [insert] * [end insert]. Pres. by Dr. D. Gunn, 1903. [added afterwards] *SHILLUK Club shield v[ide] Westermann pl. DLXVI.
