Shield (traditional Tinaroo blood spots design) and Sword

Anning incorporates figurative representations of Yidinyji ancestors within the composition of his shields. He honours them in his contemporary revival of Yidinyji cultural forms and themes.

This style of shield was once used for ritualised combat and in warfare involving various rainforest groups. The shields are still cut from the buttress (root) of the softwood fig tree and are then carved, incised and decorated with coarsely ground ochre's. A hardwood sword was often used with the shield, and great strength and skill were required to wield them in combat.

Michael Boiyool Anning is recognised as Queensland's foremost Indigenous artist reviving the tradition of shield making.