Madu for comment
 

I picked up this madu at the Baltimore show last weekend .It is one of the items that I am inexplicably drawn to.
The show was fun and it was a pleasure to see Rick again,meeting his family as well as some other forum members.

Dave,

It was great seeing you as well. That madu had a very nice patina and he decorations to the front are interesting. I can see why you are attracted to this type of shield!

Nice and slightly unusual and better example of these. Congrats!

Sorry I missed you at Baltimore. I was with Manteris1 with only ethnographic stuff there. I was the guy with a silver earcuff with a silver feather.

Thanks. I think we did meet; I bought the "billy club," and the book "head knockers," and later came by and bought a Chinese sword from him. God willing, I'll be sure to come around next year and get properly introduced.

Excellent weapon in a close fight melèe
 

The Mahrattas used this to wade into the thick of battle to rescue a person. Probably great for certain occasions at the supermarket too...

Pics of this? :fingerscrossed: :D

OH.......THAT WAS YOU? :eek:

It was .

Well no......but here is a picture of my Cherokee earcuff (which I made) at my 150th birthday party......

By the way, I find that the figures on the madu to be uncommon and they add to the uniqueness and beauty of the piece.

Are the figures made of bronze/brass?

I think they are brass; the figures are almost 3 dimensional because of the large amount of metal each animal is made of .

I think that it is a varnish covering this shield.
However peaks at each end are not common!
nice shield

Thanks.The covering is not varnish, but a blend of boiled linseed oil and lemon extract that I use to clean and preserve some of my items;it brings out the color of old paint, takes the dirt off and leaves the old patina (i.e., no change to the brass color).
The figures range in thickness from 1/16" to 1/8"; they are substantial enough to be pinned through the shield rather than inlaid or brazed on it .