Dunja Hersak (in de Heusch, L. (ed.), Objects Signs of Africa, Tervuren, no date) discusses the appearance and function of these shields, with kifwebe masks in relief in the centre, among the Luba and Songye.
A number of examples can be dated back to the 1890s and one of the seven in Tervuren was published as early as 1897. The majority of known examples have a white-faced kifwebe mask at the centre, as in the present lot, but examples with black-faced or striated mask also exist. One of the early shields in Tervuren and another in the Barbier Mueller collection depict the woven raffia horn worn as part of the costume of a dancer and this is also evident in the present example. Such shields would almost certainly not have been used in battle but would have formed part of a chief's regalia. Used in exchanges, such as in recognition of tribute payment, their distribution indicates the extent of the power and influence of the Songye and Luba peoples. Hersak recounts that at least two such shields are recorded as having been collected from well outside the Luba/Songye area.