Hi Detlef,

Not that I can remember,But I think your in the good direction with Ternate.
The shields from Ternate are indeed more rectangular and has the flowermotif your shield also have. There are also brass shields from Ternate more or less in this style, here a pic....

Arjan.

Thank you Arjan for reply,
I've also seen a similar shield in a book but can't remember in which one.
Regards,
Detlef

Because of the "ridges" in front of the shield from top to bottom (over the length of the shield) I would say it's made in regions were the Salawaku's were made, as they also had these kind of "ridges" sometimes (if that's the good word for it).... but this is my personal oppinion, and I have no proof for it.

But it's hard to determine the origin, as the shield on the image below was collected in 1857 at the "Tomori bay expedition" in Celebes (which looks a lot like the shield Arjan posted, but it isn't the same as it's decorated a bit different....).
According to Juynboll book part XIX, "Celebes" (1927), there still were a few of these shields in Limbotto and in the Minahassa, and were they still used in feastly parades and mirrorfights by the best warriors.


It's a bit like the copper helmets (taoboetaoes), which were found in Celebes, Moluccans and also the Philippines...
Salawaku's were also found in the north part of Celebes, as in the Molucan islands.
And also the pade like parangs were found on Celebes and around the Moluccan islands....

Limbotto

The shield above looks like it is metal covered and repoussed. Is this the case?

Yes it consists of wood and copper according the museumdatabase.
Look at the (bad) picture which gives you an indication of how it looks like in real.

Thank you Maurice. I guess this is a very rare form of this shield, right?

I've never seen one in real........

Jose, here's another one (a better picture) in the "Volkenkundig museum Leiden" collection....

Thank you for posting this picture Maurice. There are indeed some affinities with my shield.

Best regards,

Detlef

Very helpful Maurice, thank you. :)

I just have found a picture with these shields in "Woodbury & Page. Photographers Java". The text says:

"Militia, trumpeters and flute orchestra of the Sultan of Ternate. The uniforms these men are wearing are early ninetheenth-century European models, except for the men at right. They wear European-style cuirasses and helmets of the sixteenth or seventeenth century. However, their shields are typical of the Moluccas. These men were called ALBAHDIR, which is derived from the Portuguese and Dutch equivalents of the word halberdier."

Picture taken after 1880.

Thanks Gustav for posting this interesting image with the same shields as discussed before!

As we look around it's amazing how we're able to find old images of people with old artifacts we never have seen before because they're that rare!

Rg,
Maurice