From History

Isihlangu Battle Shield

An important Isihlangu battle shield acquired during the Anglo-Zulu War and hailing from the collection of a British regimental historian is to be offered in our next specialist African & Oceanic Art auction in Edinburgh.

An important Isihlangu battle shield acquired during the Anglo-Zulu War and hailing from the collection of a British regimental historian is to be offered in our next specialist African & Oceanic Art auction in Edinburgh.

This important Isihlangu battle shield was acquired during the Anglo-Zulu War and hailed from the collection of a British regimental historian. We will be offering this piece of history in our forthcoming specialist African & Oceanic Art auction in Edinburgh on Wednesday 1 May.

From the particular style of this Isihlangu Battle Shield, we know its original bearer was part of a group named the umCijo – the sharp ones, who fought at the famous battles of Isandlwana and Roukes Drift.

ZULU SHIELD, ISIHLANGU | 115cm high by 47cm wide | £3,000–5,000 + fees

In the Zulu army experienced warriors carried white shields, whilst the younger unmarried men carried black. This demarcation formed the basis of the Zulu's famous battle formation imitating the horns, chest and loins of a cow, which is thought to have originated in hunting as a means of encircling game. During combat, the youngest and swiftest warriors, carrying dark shields, made up the 'horns', attempting to surround the enemy and draw him into the 'chest', whereupon the elite white shields would destroy him. This strategy was borne out at the Battle of Isandlwana in 1879, where the Zulu forces overwhelmed the vastly better equipped British.