Important Aboriginal Works of Art - 25 May 2016 | Melbourne
ochre pigment and PVC fixative on stringybark (Eucalyptus Tetrodonta) hollow log
157.0 cm height
Lot Details
Description
Debra Wurrkidj
ochre pigment and PVC fixative on stringybark (Eucalyptus Tetrodonta) hollow log
157.0 cm height
Maningrida Arts and Culture, Northern Territory (cat. 979-08)
Private collection, Sydney
This work is accompanied by a certificate from Maningrida Arts & Culture which states: ‘The Lorrkon or bone pole coffin ceremony was the final ceremony in a sequence of mortuary rituals celebrated by the people of the Arnhem Land. This ceremony involves the placing of the deceased’s bones into a hollow log which was decorated with painted clan designs and ceremonially placed into the ground where it remained until it slowly decayed over many years. The log is made from a termite hollowed stringybark tree (Eucalyptus tetradonta) and is decorated with totemic emblems.’