馬里邦賈加拉懸崖特勒姆 鐵盾

of circular form, the front cast with a flat band bordering the edge and centred with a circular panel surmounted by a raised knop, the centre of the reverse with a thin arched strap, stand

Renaud Vanuxem，巴黎
Wild Gallery，布魯塞爾
Pierre Dartevelle，布魯塞爾
比利時私人收藏

Wild Gallery，2001年

Condition as shown in the photograph. Wear in accordance with age and use within the culture. Strap at back probably a later addition.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

The Tellem were a hunter-gatherer people who inhabited the great sandstone Bandiagara escarpment between the eleventh and sixteenth centuries AD, using caves and cliff dwellings as granaries and burial chambers. The eventual disappearance of the Tellem is not entirely accounted for; it appears some died of disease, some were taken in slave raids, and some were incorporated by the Dogon people, who probably arrived in the Bandiagara escarpment around the 14th century (see R. M. A. Bedaux, ‘Tellem and Dogon Material Culture’, African Arts, Vol. XXI, No. 4, 1988, p. 41).

This great iron shield is an exceptionally rare and prestigious object; the large amounts of iron required to make such a shield would have ensured that it remained highly valuable across successive generations. It seems likely that this prestige may also account in part for the great rarity of such shields, which are generally only known to us from their appearance in miniature form in small iron figures of warriors.