London - A world city in 20 objects: No. 16 Shield (Gaschan)

Our weekly series examines an artefact from the British Museum with origins in one of the capital’s many diverse cultures
p39 Status symbol: shield of hippopotamus hide and leather, Somalia, early 20th century On display in the Sainsbury African Galleries, room 25, British Museum, WC1 (020 7323 8299, britishmuseum. org). Open Sat-Thurs, 10am-5.30pm; Fri 10am-8.30pm, admission free.
17 January 2013

The Somali community has grown in London in recent years and its impact can be witnessed in one of the newest acquisitions to the BM’s collection, a button badge with the slogan “I love Mo Farah”, the Somali-born runner who was such an inspiration throughout the 2012 Olympic Games. But the Museum’s collection contains many fascinating objects of Somali origin, such as this hippopotamus hide shield on display in the Sainsbury African Galleries.

Somali shields were much smaller than those from neighbouring Ethiopia, being not much larger than a dinner plate, though their perfect circular shape was created in a similar way. The first stage was to cut out a piece of untreated hippopotamus hide, then to place it over a shaped wooden mould sunk firmly in the ground. Any hair would be scraped off at this stage and the hide would be allowed to dry. Then several coats of oil would be applied over a period of days, causing the hide to swell, while at the same time being beaten with a mallet to achieve a tough and virtually impenetrable surface.

The shield-maker would then use a number of special hammers to apply embossed markings to the supple surface before allowing the hide to dry out completely. Despite their small size, Somali shields are extremely strong — and may be looked upon almost as offensive rather than defensive weapons. They had a very large hand grip which would allow the owner to push the shield up his arm when not in combat.

Undoubtedly the significance of shields extended far beyond their functional capabilities. Possessing a fine, perfectly round and bleached white shield was an indication of a man’s standing in society. Some shields also have intricate designs, painted in henna, beneath the grip on the reverse side. These were known as “marriage shields” and formed part of the dowry given by the bride’s father to his son-in-law. Similar shields were used in the Arabian Peninsula, and there is evidence to suggest they were made in Somalia for export, particularly to Oman.

Christopher Spring, British Museum curator, African Collections

On display in the Sainsbury African Galleries, room 25, British Museum, WC1 (020 7323 8299, britishmuseum. org). Open Sat-Thurs, 10am-5.30pm; Fri 10am-8.30pm, admission free.

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in

MORE ABOUT