BOUCLIER, RÉGION DE LA RIVIÈRE GREEN, PROVINCE DU WEST SEPIK, PAPOUASIE-NOUVELLE-GUINÉE |

Bouclier, Région de la rivière Green, Province du West Sepik, Papouasie-Nouvelle-Guinée

Collection privée, Australie
Sotheby's, Sydney, 28 novembre 1993, n° 12
Collection Elizabeth Pryce, Sydney

Sydney, Sydney College of the Arts, Pacific Islands War Shields, août - septembre 2000

Beran et Craig, Shields of Melanesia, 2005, couverture et p. 74-75, n° 4.1

Excellent condition overall. Chips, scratches, marks and abrasions throughout consistent with the object’s age and use within the culture. Seven or eight large cracks to the centre of the shield, the longest measuring approximately 30cm. Further cracks to the top and bottom edges travelling vertically inwards; all cracks in line with grain of the wood. Hole to the lower centre of the shield, approximately 1.5 cm in diamter. Another three holes to the top and both sides of the shield, likely to be native holes for binding. Orange and white pigment exceptionally well preserved. Some labels on reverse.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

Les boucliers de la région de Green River sont appelés iben par les Abau qui vivent le long du fleuve Sepik, en amont de sa jonction avec la Yellow River. Les boucliers Abau sont portés sur l'épaule du bras d'arc du guerrier, libérant l'autre bras pour placer et tirer des flèches. Le dispositif de portage se composait d’une sangle horizontale attachée à un trou percé sur chaque bord et d’une sangle verticale reliée à la sangle horizontale et fixée au bord supérieur de la planche. Les flèches de combat étaient équipées de pointes crénelées en bois ou en palmier, ou de lames crénelées en bambou. Les boucliers étaient sculptés dans les racines-échasses de grands arbres (kofekan). Après avoir épannelé la planche selon la forme et l'épaisseur requises, le motif était marqué au charbon de bois. Un éclat de pierre tranchant était ensuite utilisé pour démarquer les lignes du dessin noir qui répondait généralement à une symétrie bilatérale, et le bois était creusé entre les lignes sur une profondeur d'environ cinq millimètres avec un burin en os de casoar. Les surfaces ciselées étaient ensuite peintes d'ocre rouge ou orange et de pigment blanc; les bandes en relief étaient repeintes en noir.

Il existait une immense gamme de motifs (cf. Heinz Kelm, 1966, Kunst vom Sepik II, pl. 201-220). La composition du bouclier Pryce est très apparentée à celle du bouclier illustré dans cet ouvrage (pl. 210), collecté à proximité des villages actuels de Baiwai ou de Bifrou, lors de l'expédition Kaiserin-Augusta-Fluss de 1912-1913.

Les compositions n’avaient pas vocation à être figuratives, mais des noms faisant référence aux caractéristiques de certaines plantes ou de certains animaux pouvaient parfois être attribués à des motifs spécifiques.

Par Barry Craig
Curator, Foreign Ethnology
South Australian Museum

Shields from the Green River area are called iben by the Abau who live along the Sepik River upstream of its junction with the Yellow River. Abau shields are carried on the shoulder of the warrior’s bow arm allowing the other arm to fit and release arrows. The carrying device was a horizontal strap tied to a hole at each edge of the board and a vertical strap tied to the middle of the horizontal strap and fastened to a hole at the top centre of the board. The lethal fight arrows were fitted with sharply-barbed wood or palmwood points, or barbed bamboo blades.

The shields were carved from the buttress roots of large trees (kofekan). After trimming the board to the required shape and thickness with an adze, the design was marked out with charcoal. A sharp stone flake was used to demarcate the lines of the black design which was usually bilaterally symmetrical and the wood cut out from between the lines to a depth of about five millimetres with a cassowary bone chisel. The chiselled-out surfaces were then painted with a red or orange earth ochre and white pigment; the relief bands were repainted black.

There was an enormous range of designs (see Heinz Kelm 1966 Kunst vom Sepik II, Plates 201-220). The design on the Pryce shield is closest to that on the shield illustrated in Kelm, Plate 210, which was collected from a location near the present-day villages of Baiwai or Bifrou, during the Kaiserin-Augusta-Fluss Expedition of 1912-13.

Designs were non-representational but names that referred to characteristics of certain plants or animals could sometimes be given to particular motifs.

By Barry Craig
Curator, Foreign Ethnology
South Australian Museum