Old ?? african shield

roanoa · 5th October 2020, 04:17 PM

Puzzling... I can see an Ethiopian coin. But.... The general appearance suggests Ethiopian. With the exception of how the handle is fastened to the shield. The knots are hidden. The inside of the shield is also too smooth. So this is my guess (??). TWO layers of thin leather glued together...… Tourist piece. Just a thought!

francantolin · 5th October 2020, 05:55 PM

Hello Roanoa,

thank you,
yes seems really perfect leather...
indeed we can't see how is fixed the handle ?
But I repeat , it's not my area !
so I thought it could be normal...

I will see in the borders if it's made of two pieces...

Martin Lubojacky · 6th October 2020, 11:39 AM

Hello Francantolin,

Unfortunatelly, this is purely touristic piece, probably made in Addis Ababa, and made recently. This one resembles Oromo shield. I think they started to make such copies ca 15 years ago.

Coins: Originally, coins were not used to decorate shields in Ethiopia. Any flat metal ornaments used to be attached to the surface of the shield by piercing the leather through (never by gluing).

Handle mounting: Method of attachment (exact type of the node) is always visible in the case of original (except of the cases when it is covered by metal bulge).

Material: In the case of original, you can always see how the thick leather is bent along the perimeter of the sield circle - on the reverse side. Covering this bends with plasticine materials was not in use (the same in the case of the handle mounting). I was informed by Ehiopian wendors that they used mixture of glue and wood sawdust during the production of such copies.

Export of original shields from Ethiopia is officially prohibited since I remeber (last 25 years for sure; - nevertheless, this fact is not significant for determining the authenticity of the shields.)

Best regards,
Martin

francantolin · 6th October 2020, 02:20 PM

Thank you Martin !!

5th October 2020, 04:17 PM	#1
roanoa Member Join Date: Jun 2005 Posts: 241	Puzzling... I can see an Ethiopian coin. But.... The general appearance suggests Ethiopian. With the exception of how the handle is fastened to the shield. The knots are hidden. The inside of the shield is also too smooth. So this is my guess (??). TWO layers of thin leather glued together...… Tourist piece. Just a thought!

5th October 2020, 05:55 PM	#2
francantolin Member Join Date: Sep 2014 Posts: 906	Hello Roanoa, thank you, yes seems really perfect leather... indeed we can't see how is fixed the handle ? But I repeat , it's not my area ! so I thought it could be normal... I will see in the borders if it's made of two pieces...

6th October 2020, 11:39 AM	#3
Martin Lubojacky Member Join Date: May 2008 Location: Czech Republic Posts: 845	Hello Francantolin, Unfortunatelly, this is purely touristic piece, probably made in Addis Ababa, and made recently. This one resembles Oromo shield. I think they started to make such copies ca 15 years ago. Coins: Originally, coins were not used to decorate shields in Ethiopia. Any flat metal ornaments used to be attached to the surface of the shield by piercing the leather through (never by gluing). Handle mounting: Method of attachment (exact type of the node) is always visible in the case of original (except of the cases when it is covered by metal bulge). Material: In the case of original, you can always see how the thick leather is bent along the perimeter of the sield circle - on the reverse side. Covering this bends with plasticine materials was not in use (the same in the case of the handle mounting). I was informed by Ehiopian wendors that they used mixture of glue and wood sawdust during the production of such copies. Export of original shields from Ethiopia is officially prohibited since I remeber (last 25 years for sure; - nevertheless, this fact is not significant for determining the authenticity of the shields.) Best regards, Martin

6th October 2020, 02:20 PM	#4
francantolin Member Join Date: Sep 2014 Posts: 906	Thank you Martin !!