A war shield ''kliau''

Description:

Indonesia, Borneo, Kalimantan, Dayak cultures
H. 128 cm, B. 30,5 cm
This shield is a purely functional war shield, carved from a single piece of wood with the handle worked in the round on the reverse. Twelve rattan strips in a zigzag pattern, secured with a dark-brown rattan band, reinforce the shield horizontally, while additional rattan strips on the back provide extra stability and prevent splitting under blows. This construction allowed warriors to parry strikes in a way that could trap an opponent’s blade, leaving them defenseless-a technique employed by experienced fighters worldwide. Vertically, a wide split bamboo rod adds further stability, and bead strings are attached at the top as decorative elements. The shield is painted uniformly in brown pigments.
From an old German private collection, assembled since the 1950s