One of the more unusual museums I visited on my recent trip to Cairo was the Ethnological Museum. This is a very old-school museum with displays that don't look like they've been changed much in the past fifty years. It contains a good collection of costume, day-to-day objects, and weapons and armor. This includes an impressive array of East African shields that I'm showing here. In the upper floor is the Ethnographic Society with a lovely Victorian lecture hall and a sizeable library.
Located just off Tahrir Square, the heart of the famous 2011 revolution, it's one of the best guarded museums I have ever seen. Part of the grounds have been converted into a police headquarters. To get onto the property I had to go through a metal detector and show my passport. Then a cop with a machine gun escorted me to the museum. From there a museum official followed me from room to room until I left. No one is stealing these shields!
I'm far from an expert on African shields, although I am familiar with the Ethiopian forms. Unfortunately there was no signage in this room to help me. My identifications should thus be taken with a grain of salt. Any help identifying these fascinating pieces of African militaria would be highly appreciated!
The top shield is made of the plastron (belly part of the shell) of a giant turtle. |
2 comments:
Under the plastron shield is an Ingessana shield with the midrib (Sudan). You also have two Fundj shields in another photo-oblong, middle widest and these are from Sudan. Bottom smaller shield is a Somali Gaschan. Quite distinct to Somalia. Other shield could be Ethiopian.
Thanks for the info! Do you travel much in the region?
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