Guadalcanal Islander

Brooklyn Museum photograph

Object Label

The unparalleled virtuosity of the Solomon Islanders in the art of shell inlay is clearly demonstrated by this rare and richly embellished war shield, collected before 1852 by Surgeon Captain James Booth of the British Royal Navy. Only about twenty of these shields are extant today, and all are believed to have been made before 1840. Shell-inlaid shields were based on the more common elliptical wicker shields made on Guadalcanal and traded to Santa Isabel Islanders, who decorated the shield by covering it with red and black resins and setting in abstract linear designs created with small pieces of nautilus shell. Two detached heads and a face below, as well as a set of four double arrow-like points, distinguish this shield, whose characteristic design format is dominated by an anthropomorphic figure with upraised arms. These shields were too fragile for use and were designed as prestige items.

Caption

Guadalcanal Islander. Shield (Grere'o), before 1852. Basketry, nautilus shell, parinarium nut paste, pigment, 31 3/4 x 11 3/4 x 2 1/2 in. (80.6 x 29.8 x 6.4 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Frank L. Babbott Fund and Carll H. de Silver Fund, 59.63. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 59.63_SL1.jpg)

Gallery

Not on view

Title

Shield (Grere'o)

Date

before 1852

Medium

Basketry, nautilus shell, parinarium nut paste, pigment

Classification

Arms and Armor

Dimensions

31 3/4 x 11 3/4 x 2 1/2 in. (80.6 x 29.8 x 6.4 cm)

Credit Line

Frank L. Babbott Fund and Carll H. de Silver Fund

Accession Number

59.63

Rights

Creative Commons-BY

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