© Kaipel Ka
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Phantom Shield
1980
Kaipel Ka painted the Phantom, the famed costumed crime fighter, on this historic shield in order to combine, in his own words, “the ideas of the white man and the man from the village.” Created by Lee Falk in 1936, the Phantom comic is still popular in Papua New Guinea. The shield is emblazoned with an inscription in Tok Pisin, an official language of Papua New Guinea: “Man Ino Save Dai!!” (The man who cannot die!!). Shields featuring the Phantom were, Ka said, “for those who led the battle, because those who lead the battle are the toughest fighters, just like the Phantom. . . . He cannot die, so men are afraid of him.”
- Artist
- Kaipel Ka
- Title
- Phantom Shield
- Date
- 1980
- Object Type
- Tools & Equipment
- Medium
- Wood, paint, metal, cassowary feathers, fiber including mosquito netting
- Dimensions
- 64 1/2 x 24 x 8 1/2 in. (163.83 x 60.96 x 21.59 cm)
- Credit Line
- Museum purchase, Phyllis C. Wattis Fund for Major Accessions
- Accession Number
- 2024.21