104 BULLETIN 137, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM 



hand and forearm. Surface is plain. The circular grip is so fitted 

 as to allow the shield to be worn as a hat or head covering. 



Diameter of circumference of shield, 65.4 centimeters (25.7 inches). 

 Collected by Lieut. Col. George C. Shaw, United States Army. Cat. 

 No. 324226", U.S.N.M. (PI. 1.) 



Carved wooden shield., Moro^ Gotohato Valley^ Mindanao. — Circu- 

 lar shields of the southern Philippine Islands are more crudely con- 

 structed and heavier than are oblong shields from the same area. 

 The reverse is hollowed and undecorated; the obverse is convexly 

 rounded like a flattened cone, as are all shields of the circular type : 

 it is carved with the emblematic hemispherical or rising-sun pattern 

 and has additional floriated surface designs incorporating an ogee 

 curve around the border and surrounding the central elevation of the 

 boss. The decorative design is further enhanced with alternate 

 colorings — the cut sections in white and the embossed portions in 

 black. A reinforcing strip of bamboo encircles the outer circum- 

 ference and is fastened with wooden pegs driven into the lateral 

 edges of the body. The double grip for the left hand and forearm 

 is cut out of the solid and is supported by a fourfold pilastering, 

 likewise cut out of the solid. 



Diameter of circumference, 58 centimeters (22.8 inches). Collected 

 by Capt. Thomas W. Darrah, United States Army. Cat. No. 213429, 

 U.S.N.M. (PL 1.) 



Carved wooden shield. Moro^ Balimbang^ Tawi Tawi group. — The 

 wood used in this shield is unique in that it is extremely heavy, light 

 in color, and unpainted. The handle grip is double and is designed to 

 include the left hand and forearm. There is no pocket cut out of the 

 body from under the boss. This characteristic is noticeable on all 

 similarly formed shields; it is only the arched oblong shields that 

 have the necessary room for a handhold to be carved from out the 

 body of the shield. On both reverse and obverse sides the shield 

 has deeply cut ornamental designs representing conventionalized ara- 

 besque design so characteristic of carvings on the hilts and grips of 

 the metallic weapons of the southern island tribes. This form of 

 embossed shield is repeated in basketry and occurs in Borneo and 

 adjoining islands. 



Length of diameter, 68 centimeters (26.7 inches). Collected by Dr. 

 E. A. Mearns, United States Army. Cat. No. 247112, U.S.N.M. 



Ohlong shield^ Kalinga., north central Luzon. — This weapon of 

 defense is an old specimen and shows a high quality of artistic work- 

 manship in wood. The shield is formed of wood of medium weight, 

 but is unusually thin in section. It is cut entirely from one piece 

 and belongs to the generalized type of pronged oblong shields pro- 

 duced by the tribes of central northern Luzon. This specimen differs 



