A rare, curved Vayola shield with fine, delicate painted decoration.

A rare, curved Vayola shield with fine, delicate painted decoration. The double rattan handle is missing from the reverse side. Trobriand Islands, Papua, Eastern New Guinea. Late 19th–early 20th century. 76 × 39 cm. (Visible wormholes and slight damage) The renowned ethnologist and specialist on the region, Bronislaw Malinowski, who conducted fieldwork between 1914 and 1918, stated that the use of this type of shield had already disappeared a generation earlier.

Estimate:£3,792.23

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