RT Article
T1 Understanding geometrical features of Nuaulu shield design
JF Journal of material culture
VO 24
IS 2
SP 210
OP 231
A1 Ellen, R. F. 1947-
LA English
PB Sage Publ.
YR 2019
UL https://www.ixtheo.de/Record/1690932740
AB This article seeks to elucidate the form and function of decorative designs on Nuaulu parrying shields from Seram, Indonesia. It builds on earlier work focusing on the shield as a sacred anthropomorphized entity with its own life-cycle, the reproduction of which mirrors the reproduction of sacred houses. It has previously been suggested that diversity in design elements is deliberately cultivated as part of a general aesthetic, connecting individuality, personhood and effervescence as features of living entities. Here the author examines the materiality of shields, documenting variation in design - especially patterns of ceramic and shell discs - and asks what significance should be attached to these. He concludes that the attribution of specific meanings to individual elements is of limited application, while the impact of the shields lies in variation itself, the perceptual affects shields have on viewers, and in abstract geometric characteristics that make them fit for ritual purpose.
K1 Indonesia
K1 Moluccas
K1 formal variability
K1 geometric patterns
K1 Shields
DO 10.1177/1359183518803393