TanzaniaHide buckler from Tanzania, Africa. Collected by Wilfred Gilbert Thesiger between 1909 and 1914. Given to the Museum in 1945.

Rhinoceros-hide bucklers such as this were essentially smaller versions of the conical shields used by warriors and chiefs in Ethiopia. Boys would use these small versions as both toys and gendered symbols of their future responsibilities as male hunters and warriors. They were plain since those with velvet coverings and embellishments of silver (and, from the end of the 19th century, gold) strips, were usually only presented as gifts by the Rases (governors) of particular provinces as marks of distinction.