Possible Taiwanese Aboriginal Shield???
 

After reading a recent thread (I believe by Resword ), on "Taiwanese Aboriginal Shields," I remembered a collector who had a pair.When I first saw them, they only held a modest interest , however after my forum induced education I went back and asked him if he was interested in selling them to me .The lesser of the two, he sold for a very modest price, the other, he stated, while grinning, we could do a trade; that may prove to be very difficult !
Based on my reading of the article I believe this to be a Paiwan shield, the black and white triangles representing snake scales, the figures, deities.I believe this to be a ceremonial or tourist piece as the handle configuration doesn't look to be combat worthy, and there is no flex to the shield as there are 4 internal metal pieces (the thickness of nails), holding it rigid.Also it doesn't look to be terribly old; this being said it is not new and you can see traces of marks where the boards were planed by a knife like instrument.
Any comments on this item would be appreciated !

ITS NOT MY FIELD BUT BASED ON POSTS IN THE FORUM I WOULD AGREE ON IT BEING FROM FORMOSA. THE WORKMANSHIP IS GOOD AND IT EVEN HAS METAL DECORATIONS INSTEAD OF THE ONES OFTEN CARVED INTO THE WOOD. TO AQUIRE A SHIELD SUCH AS THIS IS VERY GOOD LUCK AS THEY ARE FEW AND FAR IN BETWEEN. THERE ARE TWO MEMBERS WHO SPECIALIZE IN THINGS FORMOSAN SO PERHAPS THEY WILL SEE THIS POST AND TELL YOU MORE ABOUT WHAT YOU HAVE. I THINK ITS A NICE ONE :)

Thanks.I never would have known what it was, had I not read about it in this forum.

It would be interesting to see the other shield, you spoke about a pair.
(I agree with you; this shield is very, very recent, from a period of time where there is absolutely no need for any wooden protection...)

Yes, it is a work in progress;I've been working on the other one for some time.If I ever get it,I will certainly post it !