Hi Charles:
Very interesting shield. The hide still has quite a lot of hair, and I wonder if this is taken from a wild boar. The hair seems very straight and tough, and possibly longer than I associate with water buffalo. Would you call the hair "bristles?"
As far as its origin, I would not rule out northern Burma, Nagaland, Assam and other areas in NE India, and even southern Yunnan. The broad rattan strips used to bind this shield together are very commonly used in those areas, and the nonspecific knots are also used there (as well as many areas of SE Asia). I remember seeing another shield similar to this one, but don't recall its attribution.
Ian.
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