Bamenda Ceramic Shield, Cameroon

Lines rush in from either side and curve away just before they collide.

This shield is Bamenda, from Cameroon, Central Africa, and is contemporary, in wood and kaolin. The Grassfields kingdoms around Bamenda are known for bold carving and strong graphic design, and white kaolin is widely associated there with purity and the ancestors. This round shield is carved in deep parallel ridges, painted white against black. A straight spine runs down the center, flanked by curving lines that sweep out like the sides of an hourglass, while horizontal bands fill the spaces at left and right. It is 21 inches in diameter and 3.5 deep.

A target that seems to be looking back.