Indian Hide Shield

North India, 19th century
63 cm diameter
Stock no.: A4304

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Indian Hide Shield

Shield or dhal made of hide with five gilt-copper bosses. Four of them containing floral forms with a precious stone inlaid in the middle of each boss. The boss at the top of the shield is portrayed with a double-lion blason. The centre of the shield is constructed from concentric circles with the symbol of the sun in its interior.

A similar Indian hide shield is in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, NewYork (accession no. 36.25.585) and dated to the 19th century. Another example in the same collection (no. 29.158.598), also dated to the 19th century, shares the translucent property of our shield. Such shields were clearly prized as diplomatic gifts, as several examples are held in the British Royal Collections (see RCIN 38128, presented to Edward VII by the Nawab of Balasinor in 1875 and RCIN 62483).

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