Papua New Guinean Lumi Shield with Incised Classical Cruciform Motif

From across a clearing, those spirals could pass for eyes.

This Lumi shield comes from the Torricelli Range in Sandaun province, Papua New Guinea, and dates to the 20th century. It is wood and pigment. Wooden shields protected New Guinea fighters from spears and arrows, and the face of a shield gave a community room to display its own designs. Here the incised cruciform motif is picked out in pale pigment on near-black wood, with double spirals at each end and curling arms at the center. Lashings pierce the plank on either side. Forty-one inches high and 22 wide.

Nobody needs to be told which side is the front.