overall: 124.5 cm x 137.5 cm x 4 cm; 49 1/32 in x 54 1/8 in x 1 9/16 in
Object Name:
Shield
shield
Place made:
Mexico
Place used:
United States: New Mexico, Santa Fe
Date made:
ca 1800
Description:
This leather shield or adraga was made by Spanish soldiers in the far northern Mexican frontier of California or New Mexico ca. 1800. It is made of three pieces of leather hide stitched together and painted with a Spanish coat of arms, in use during the reign of Carols III (1759-88) a crown and two pillars.
Shields like these were issued to Spanish soldiers on the frontier. Soldiers were to enlist for ten years with hope of better pay and land. Officals hoped the soldeiers and families would help colonize this frontier and enlarge the Spainish sphere of influence.
The Spanish interaction with the people of the area had profound affects on the Native Americans already living in the area. Religion, trade, language, food, marriage, all combined to create a unique cultural landscape that did not exist anywhere else.
