Tinguian war shield

height: 42"
width: 10"
grip: 4 1/4"

Shield from the northern Philippines Tinguian or Integ people. The Tinguians live in the remote mountains of western north Luzon. Tinguian/Itneg shields are distinguished by the upper and lower projections that are rounded, in comparison to the Bontoc and neighboring Kalinga shields that are thin and flattend on the ends. This wooden shield is decorated with flat rattan bands, the left side (from the user's perspective) of the shield was split and repaired during it's working life with rawhide lacing. Making these took quite a bit of time, they weren't just flat boards with a handle. Someone put a good deal of craftsmanship and effort into producing this shield, you don't toss it away after just one fight. The shield is thicker in the center than the edges, carved in the back for the handgrip. Circa 1860-1910. I'm reasonably sure this was once a part of the Peabody Collection sold via auction by Francis Bannerman in the mid 1920's. This shield spent some time in stock at Western Costume, a big prop shop serving Hollywood through the Golden and Silver film eras - I'm sure there's a film out there somewhere where you can see this shield in the hands of some poor "native" Los Angelino shoe-polished brown or black by the makeup department.
The second set of pictures are same shield, same lighting, new backdrop, new camera, new version of photoshop.