Ethiopian Leather Buckler

[RobertGuy]

I picked this up recently.
Catalogue description:
19th Century African Leather Buckler Shield, thick hide small low dome shield with outer turned up brim. The exterior with concentric ring and bar decoration. Rear heavy leather loop handle.

My stats:
Weight: 1lb 15oz (0.89kg)
Diameter: 13'' (33cm)
Hide thickness: 0.269'' (6.84mm)
A quick search on the forum lead gave me this:
http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/showthread.php?t=7198&highlight=leather+shield
Which looks to be an exact match
Is there any reliable way of dating these items? (short of radio carbon) :). Has anyone got any more information about these shields they would like to share?
Thanks in advance.

[TVV]

The buckler to me looks more like it is from Somalia, rather than Ethiopia. Nice find, a forum search should produce some results for starters.

Teodor

[Sajen]

It's a Somali shield IMVHO, nice and good age.

Regards,
Detlef

Just see that Theodor think similar, same posting time! :)

[RobertGuy]

Thanks, I have amended the title to Somalian Leather Buckler. I had already read the link I posted so I don't know why I still posted with my original thought. :o