Vietnamese Shield

Nick Wardigo · 14th March 2016, 08:31 PM

And here are some photos from the "Nam Giao sacrifice." I altered the first photo to bring out the details of the decoration...even though the shape of the shield is different (pentagonal, rather than oval), you can see the decoration is very similar to my first shield. On the left side of that photo (and in the other photos), you can see an oval shield that's close (or identical) to the shape of mine. I can't find a reliable attribution as to the date of these photos, but I'm guessing early twentieth century.

The illustration is from a French book on the subject of Vietnamese religious ceremonies, dated 1915.

The color photo is of the modern recreation of the ceremony in Hue.

VANDOO · 15th March 2016, 05:55 AM

VERY INTERESTING AND UNUSUAL.

THE DESIGNS ON THE TOP AND BOTTOM OF THE SECOND SHIELD REMIND ME OF THE CHINESE DEPICTION OF A BAT. THE FACES ARE DIFFERENT BUT THOSE CURVED THINGS MAY REPRESENT ITS WINGS. GOOD LUCK ON YOUR CONTINUING RESEARCH.

Nick Wardigo · 15th March 2016, 03:10 PM

Curious. The depiction is actually of a dragon biting on a shou symbol...his two claws are resting on a couple of highly-stylized clouds. However, you have a valid point: the overall profile of the artwork very much resembles stylized bats that I've seen elsewhere.

14th March 2016, 08:31 PM	#1
Nick Wardigo Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA Posts: 54	And here are some photos from the "Nam Giao sacrifice." I altered the first photo to bring out the details of the decoration...even though the shape of the shield is different (pentagonal, rather than oval), you can see the decoration is very similar to my first shield. On the left side of that photo (and in the other photos), you can see an oval shield that's close (or identical) to the shape of mine. I can't find a reliable attribution as to the date of these photos, but I'm guessing early twentieth century. The illustration is from a French book on the subject of Vietnamese religious ceremonies, dated 1915. The color photo is of the modern recreation of the ceremony in Hue. Attached Images

15th March 2016, 05:55 AM	#2
VANDOO (deceased) Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: OKLAHOMA, USA Posts: 3,138	VERY INTERESTING AND UNUSUAL. THE DESIGNS ON THE TOP AND BOTTOM OF THE SECOND SHIELD REMIND ME OF THE CHINESE DEPICTION OF A BAT. THE FACES ARE DIFFERENT BUT THOSE CURVED THINGS MAY REPRESENT ITS WINGS. GOOD LUCK ON YOUR CONTINUING RESEARCH.

15th March 2016, 03:10 PM	#3
Nick Wardigo Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA Posts: 54	Curious. The depiction is actually of a dragon biting on a shou symbol...his two claws are resting on a couple of highly-stylized clouds. However, you have a valid point: the overall profile of the artwork very much resembles stylized bats that I've seen elsewhere.