Igorot shield, Philippines - Lot 150

Lot n° 150
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Estimation :
600 - 700 EUR
Igorot shield, Philippines - Lot 150
Igorot shield, Philippines Late 19th - early 20th century Wood H. 91.5 cm Bibliography : Boucliers d'Afrique, d'Asie du sud-est et d'Océanie : du musée Barbier-Mueller, Adam Biro, Paris, 1998. Meric Aurélie, Les armes d'Insulinde conservées au Musée du Quai Branly : vers une mise en valeur de la collection. Histoire de la collection, Stylistique et Usages, Mémoire sous la direction de Madeleine Leclair, Paris, Ecole du Louvre, 2006. Carved from a rectangular monoxyle piece, this Kalaság shield features three appendages - including a central conical protuberance at the upper end, and two lower appendages, forming a stylized representation of a human figure with raised arms. The rib running vertically across the shield is framed by two lines in slight relief that meet almost at the center of the composition, forming an hourglass motif. This singular motif is said to provide divine protection for the warrior during traditional headhunts, a custom of great importance to the highland peoples of the Igorot, Kalinga, Tinguian and Bontoc. The motif actually refers to the rice mortar, an accessory used during ritual ceremonies to access protective spiritual entities at important stages in the life of the community (weddings, funerals, births, etc.). More of a ritual activity than a genuine act of war, headhunting ensured, among other things, good harvests, and the symbolism of the rice mortar on kalaság shields makes all the more sense in this context.
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