African (Nubian ?) shield

[thinreadline]

Originally Posted by colin henshaw

Useful post from thinreadline. So, I think its safe to say these shields were used by the northern Sudanese riverine tribes (Nubian) in the late 19th century. Likely, many of the examples found in Europe are war trophies.

Regarding the Funj peoples, there doesn't seem to be much clear and definitive information about them on the internet. It seems they were/are one of the Nubian groups to be found between Omdurman and Wadi Halfa ??

Thanks Colin , that is always what I have believed . Very envious of your shield, have been after one for over 40 years ! General Earle was from Liverpool and was killed some time after the battle was over. I understand that he was mooching around a nearby village and poked his head into a hut only to be blasted by a tribesperson who was hiding within !

[colin henshaw]

Originally Posted by thinreadline

Thanks Colin , that is always what I have believed . Very envious of your shield, have been after one for over 40 years ! General Earle was from Liverpool and was killed some time after the battle was over. I understand that he was mooching around a nearby village and poked his head into a hut only to be blasted by a tribesperson who was hiding within !

Glad you like it. This type of shield seems fairly scarce, I have only come across one or two for sale in the past. Looking at my example more closely ... there are down each side in the hide, four groups of four marks in a square, (see image attached), so eight groups in all. I wonder what they are for, perhaps representations of tribal markings or similar ?

Digging around, I have come up with two further images of these shields, one in the Governor's palace in Khartoum, the other in Blair Castle, Scotland.

[LJ]

Great photos! Are those suits hanging on the wall of Blair Castle padded cotton horseman's tunics ? Strange coincidence that by following the links in another post just added (wanting help with a german translation) you get to a drawing of a Sudanese horseman wearing armour and also to an illustration of a shield similar to the ones we have been discussing. The German paper is about the Beja, which seems to be a catch-all name for groups living between the Nile and Red Sea if you believe Wikipedia.

Incidentally, about those marks in groups of four: could they have been pin-marks from decorations - silver plates for instance - formerly fixed to the shield ?

[colin henshaw]

Originally Posted by LJ

Great photos! Are those suits hanging on the wall of Blair Castle padded cotton horseman's tunics ? Strange coincidence that by following the links in another post just added (wanting help with a german translation) you get to a drawing of a Sudanese horseman wearing armour and also to an illustration of a shield similar to the ones we have been discussing. The German paper is about the Beja, which seems to be a catch-all name for groups living between the Nile and Red Sea if you believe Wikipedia.

Incidentally, about those marks in groups of four: could they have been pin-marks from decorations - silver plates for instance - formerly fixed to the shield ?

Thanks. The image I believe shows a chain mail jacket, however Blair Castle does have a padded tunic(s). Here are a few more images.

The marks in my shield could have been for the attachment of decorations, I guess. They are small holes that go right through, as if made by a strong needle.

[Gavin Nugent]

A great discussion and awesome images.

Below are a pair of spears I have here. I've also two of the shields in the initial post, one is mounted in my home, the other in storage, neither have the croc skin centre "tit" as my son calls it, both are thick, hard and weighty hide, pressed to shape and with thickened folded edges.

Gavin

[colin henshaw]

Originally Posted by Gavin Nugent

A great discussion and awesome images.

Below are a pair of spears I have here. I've also two of the shields in the initial post, one is mounted in my home, the other in storage, neither have the croc skin centre "tit" as my son calls it, both are thick, hard and weighty hide, pressed to shape and with thickened folded edges.

Gavin

Thanks Gavin. Fine spears ... the shafts are of a similar material (Nile reed ?) to the stick on my shield.

If possible, please post images of your two shields as they would be interesting comparisons.

Regards.

[Gavin Nugent]

Better late than never... I'll dig the other out in the new year...