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1 of 253523 objects
Zulu
Shield c.1870
144.0 x 78.0 x 78.0 cm (whole object) | RCIN 83569
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A large hide shield. It is leaf shaped with two rows of parallel cuts in the centre around the central wooden shaft. A wooden baton is fixed horizontally across the centre back.
Shields of this kind bore different patterns depending on the regiment (impi). The colours of the hide also indicated a warrior's marital status and battle maturity: the most inexperienced fighters typically used black shields, while white shields with minimal spots, like this one, were reserved for the most senior fighters.Provenance
Taken by the 13th Light Infantry in Zululand (southern Africa) during the Anglo-Zulu War and presented to Queen Victoria in 1879.
On 2 January 1880, the Queen recorded in her Journal that she had 'Walked with Beatrice by Barton & the Swiss Cottage [at Osborne House on the Isle of Wight], where we placed, in the museum, some of the assegais & shields, given to me from Zululand.' This shield was probably among them, and is likely one of the '3 Leather African shields' displayed 'Over the Arch' there in 1904 (Osborne House Swiss Cottage Inventory, p.97). -
Creator(s)
(nationality)Acquirer(s)
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Medium and techniques
Measurements
144.0 x 78.0 x 78.0 cm (whole object)
