This article seeks to elucidate the form and function of decorative designs on Nuaulu parrying shields from Seram, Indonesia. It builds on earlier work focusing on the shield as a sacred anthropomorphized entity with its own life-cycle, the reproduction of which mirrors the reproduction of sacred houses. It has previously been suggested that diversity in design elements is deliberately cultivated as part of a general aesthetic, connecting individuality, personhood and effervescence as features of living entities. Here the author examines the materiality of shields, documenting variation in design – especially patterns of ceramic and shell discs – and asks what significance should be attached to these. He concludes that the attribution of specific meanings to individual elements is of limited application, while the impact of the shields lies in variation itself, the perceptual affects shields have on viewers, and in abstract geometric characteristics that make them fit for ritual purpose.

中文翻译：

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了解Nuaulu盾构设计的几何特征

本文旨在阐明印度尼西亚Seram的Nuaulu挡墙上的装饰设计的形式和功能。它以早期的工作为基础，该工作将盾牌视为具有自身生命周期的神圣拟人化实体，其复制过程与神圣房屋的复制过程相同。以前曾有人建议，设计元素的多样性是作为一般美学的一部分刻意培养的，将个性，个性和冒泡联系在一起，作为生命实体的特征。在这里，作者检查了屏蔽的重要性，记录了设计的变化，尤其是陶瓷和外壳盘的图案，并询问应赋予这些屏蔽什么意义。他得出的结论是，将特定含义赋予各个元素的应用范围有限，