Shield
(Separ)
(early 19th century)
Medium
steel, gold (counterfeit damascening), cotton, paint
Measurements
47.5 × 47.5 × 9.0 cm
Credit Line
National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne
Purchased, 1901
Gallery location
Not on display
Artwork Details
Physical description
Round shield of cast and chased steel with some raised areas picked out with gold paint or inlay, or with black paint (band with inscriptions). The decoration is overall floral and foliate with 8 cartouches around an outside band with Persian (?) inscriptions in nastaliq (?) script. The shield has 4 raised metal bosses, also decorated, and a raised, round edging strip. The interior has a hand stitched, quilted cotton lining with a woven braid edging and 4 circular iron lugs in the centre to which hand loops would have been attached.