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Originally Posted by Shamsy
Thank you all so much for the advice and warm welcome! I've already learned a few things from my brief foray into the archives. I think I will keep my focus open since I was first drawn to African arms as armour because of the variety and the fact I just liked some of the pieces. Good advice!
Kahnjar, I've attempted to add a picture of my shield for you. It's quite different, though I saw one exactly as you described for sale recently in a small antique shop. It was rhino hide, in fantastic condition. At least they don't fake those! I'd like to buy it actually, but they were after about... $1,000 US equivalent which is a lot of money. Not tech savvy, and I can't see my post as I'm on probation, but here goes...
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Your shield appears to be Indian. Here's another sold on an auction site but they say ~ Quote"A highly rare and desirable Indian large shield (18th or 19th century), made of hide. These don't come up for sale very often. This example is a bit warped, but retains most of its original domed form. The black hide - perhaps buffalo - retains a nice black surface colour and texture. The original handle straps are still intact. All four grip bosses are still solid and secure (these often fall off with age and abuse). Each of the metal fitting on the surface is intricately decorated (see photos), but it has been covered with some kind of varnish which is obscuring this decoration - this should be carefully cleaned off with a chemical remover, but I have left as found. A real gem - large ones like this (26 inches or thereabouts) are really hard to find in the UK, especially in this condition."Unquote.