Shield (Grere'o)

Unknown

Early to mid-19th century · Fiber, parinarium-nut paste, chambered-nautilus shell, pigment · Arts of Africa, Oceania, and the Americas

Shell inlaid shields are among the most remarkable and enigmatic art forms from Solomon Islands. The surviving corpus of these works contains about 25 examples, which are remarkably consistent in their design and manufacture. All feature an inlaid central design of an elongated human figure surrounded by labyrinthine designs. Some, as in this example, also feature smaller faces positioned throughout the design. It appears that all of the known Solomon Islands shell inlaid shields were created in the first half of the nineteenth century, mostly likely on the islands of Guadalcanal and New Georgia and then traded to neighboring groups.

Artist

Unknown

Date

Early to mid-19th century

Medium

Fiber, parinarium-nut paste, chambered-nautilus shell, pigment

Culture

Solomon Islands people

Department

Arts of Africa, Oceania, and the Americas

Credit line

The Michael C. Rockefeller Memorial Collection, Gift of Nelson A. Rockefeller, 1972