North-Indian Dhal shield

The ‘dhal’ shield, the foot soldier’s attire. Widely worn by infantry in battle and during parades to indicate rank or status. The ‘dhal’ shield were mostly made of leather, boiled in oil to harden which gives an attractive translucent effect. The front is covered with four or six bosses, sometimes decorated with precious material such as gold, silver, gemstones and enamel. Most ‘dhal’ have a domed shape and a cushion inside to provide comfort while in hand.

This example:

Made of hardened leather, translucent and covered in a thin silver sheath. The silver sheath is decorated with handprinted floral designs in gold, altered with polychrome pigments. The center shows a richly decorated centerpiece accompanied by four iron openwork bosses with a modest silver inlay ‘koftgari’ decoration. The inside of the shield is plain, and has four rings attached to the bosses within once a cushion which unfortunately  did not stand the test of time.

A very similar decoration design is seen on a ‘sarod’ instrument in the Victoria & Albert collection which is attributed to the workshops of Varanasi and Patna, Uttar Pradesh.