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Shield (Dhàl)

early 19th century
On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 380
Thick hide, dried and stiffened, may be the oldest material used by humans for personal defense. This shield, a type wielded by hunters throughout the Indian subcontinent, features hide shaped into a shallow dome and fitted with gilt and jeweled raised ornamentation. The maker skillfully lacquered the uncured skin to help preserve it. Surprisingly, the shield is translucent and glows warmly when held to the light.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Shield (Dhàl)
  • Date: early 19th century
  • Culture: North Indian
  • Medium: Hide, gilt bronze, enamel, lacquer, jewels, textile (velvet)
  • Dimensions: Diam. 18 in. (45.7 cm); Wt. 3 lb. 12 oz. (1690 g)
  • Classification: Shields
  • Credit Line: Bashford Dean Memorial Collection, Funds from various donors, 1929
  • Object Number: 29.158.598
  • Curatorial Department: Arms and Armor

More Artwork

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Dagger (Katar) with Sheath, Steel, silver, wood, velvet, Indian
Dagger (Katar) with Sheath
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Jewel coffer on stand (petit coffre à bijoux), Martin Carlin French, Oak veneered with tulipwood, sycamore, holly, and ebonized holly; thirteen soft-paste porcelain plaques; gilt-bronze mounts; velvet (not original), French, Paris and Sèvres
Jewel coffer on stand (petit coffre à bijoux)
Coffer attributed to Martin Carlin
Manufactory Porcelain plaques by Sèvres Manufactory
Decorator Plaque decoration attributed to Michel-Gabriel Commelin
ca. 1775
Shield for the Field or Tournament (Targe), Wood, leather, linen, gesso, pigments, silver, German
Shield for the Field or Tournament (Targe)
German
ca. 1450
Dagger (Katar), Steel, Indian
Dagger (Katar)
Indian
17th–18th century
Drop-front secretary (Secrétaire en armoire), Jean Henri Riesener French, Oak veneered with ebony and 17th-century Japanese lacquer; interiors veneered with tulipwood, amaranth, holly, and ebonized holly; gilt-bronze mounts; marble top; velvet (not original), French, Paris
Drop-front secretary (Secrétaire en armoire)
Jean Henri Riesener
1783

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