A £35,000 Aboriginal parrying shield is the pick of two tribal gatherings
To great publicity last November Martel Maides of Guernsey sold a collection of Fijian cannibal forks for close to £30,000. They were the property of a local collector, who had bought them privately in the North Midlands three or four decades ago – the same vendor who entered an Aboriginal parrying shield to the auctioneer’s sale last month with hopes of £3000-4000.
Carved from a single piece of wood, the distinct elongated, convex shield is common to many Aborigin…