Bamenda Ceramic Shield, Cameroon

Four arcs press in from the edges, squeezing the straight lines into a diamond.

This shield is Bamenda, from Cameroon, Central Africa, and is contemporary, in wood and kaolin. Carvers of the Bamenda Grassfields work in a strongly graphic tradition, and the contrast of white kaolin against dark wood is a familiar feature of the region's art. This round disk is cut with raised ridges painted white over black. Vertical lines fill a central diamond with gently curved sides, while sweeping arcs fill the four segments around it, each bending toward the rim. It is 21 inches in diameter and 2 deep.

Geometry, with a pleasant sense of rhythm.