Papua New Guinean Lumi Shield with Incised Classical Cruciform Motif

A shield is an argument made before the fighting starts.

This Lumi shield comes from the Torricelli Range in Sandaun province, Papua New Guinea, and is made of wood and rattan. In New Guinea, shields were carried into fighting between groups, and carved designs could announce identity and unsettle an enemy as well as stop a spear. The dark, curved plank bears an incised cruciform motif with scrolled ends and small chevrons. Rattan lashings knot through the surface along each side. Thirty-seven inches high and twenty-three wide.

The design has held its line.