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Thank you Tunguska (and Zetef du Plessis).

An amazing survivor and presumably unique.

My Z.A.R. Staatsartillerie example was made by Christys' of London, and supplied by A. Johnston & Co., Pretoria. This type of shako was reserved for officers and N.C.O.s, with gold braid for officers and yellow for N.C.O.'s (as laid down in the 1890 dress regulations). The Christy's label indicates that it is from an earlier (c.1890-1894) batch than the Mauritz Tiller caps.

Johan Wolfaardt notes:

"Christies of London were the guys that delivered the pith helmets to the Transvaal in the 1890's. Therefore, this is a very interresting shako, as it is an earlier type than those seen in Boer War pics. Those with period histories dating from the late 1890's/Boer War are all marked 'Mauritz Tiller Hoflewerant Vien und Budapest'. The Johnstone label is of late 1880's early 1890's type. In these early labels, Johnstone's name was printed in floral script without the word 'Pretoria'. The labels from about 1894 are in Arial script (gold on black) with the words 'A Johnstone Lewerancier [Supplier] Pretoria'. The buckle to the chinstrap is slightly different as well: a bit bigger than the later ones. I date this shako to about 1890-1894, a very rare piece indeed, as most uniforms of this period were canabalised by the government or sold off to the Volunteer Corps".










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Heavy gilt cast-brass Z.A.R. horse harness badge. With stout rectangular vertically-aligned loop to reverse to take harness strap (Owen #2013).

It seems that a considerable quantity of these found their way into the hands of an artisan (or artisans) who used them as the bases for sugar basins, constructed from Mauser rounds and Pom-pom cartridges. These have various inscriptions, such as: "SOUTH AFRICA / 1899 -1902" and "PRETORIA 1901". The VSM cartridge cases are of British rather than Boer origin (with Vickers, Sons & Maxim headstamps).






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