Aboriginal Art

[avandonk]

I have had this bark painting since 1974 ish. Kokathaman might be able to enlighten us.

Bert

[Kokatha man]

Hi Bert - I have no idea who this particular artist is, apart from what you already know from the provenance details on your images: William Billinjara Maralngurra out of Oenpelli in the Gumadeer river area: Namarkon, the Lightening Spirit figure.

This is an example of "raark" painting on bark, most likely to be in natural pigments from its' age - did you procure this from the artist in 1974 or was it pre-owned by someone before yourself, and thus possibly older than 1974?

"Raark" is the name given to cross-hatched designs as in this depiction, and is specific to the Top-End (Arnhem Land)

There are several Maralngurras that are listed as artists from that region but I couldn't find specific mention of this particular person: quite possibly he is/was an older (senior) man and the age would make this a good artwork from several perspectives. The painting itself looks well-executed and not a "sloppy souvenir" which increases its value: obviously you have taken good care and it is in good condition.

You could take it to be appraised: I know no more than that.

Cheers, Darryl.

[niko]

Bert,

Oenpelli (now called Gunbalunya) is in western Arnhem Land. The arts Centre there is called Inyalak Arts Centre - you may be able to obtain some further info on the artist by contacting them via email. You can also search the Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies library website to see what they have in their collection (aiatsis.gov.au)

There is a spectacular rock painting of this lightning spirit in Kakadu and a google search will bring up heaps of info on it. It's at Nourlangie Rock - I'll put a brief precis below.

As a generalisation, art from Western Arnhem Land tends to be more secular than that of eastern AL. Rarrk is used throughout Arnhem Land though more extenisvely in western and central regions. The right to paint certain objects/spirits is determined by your clan/moeity association and the style of rarrk is also specific in this way.

The art of AL has been extensively written about and you should have no trouble finding out more info. Try Wally Caruna's book on Aboriginal art as a starter.

Bear in mind that offence can be given when openly discussing the names of people who are deceased or subjects that hold deep religious significance and it is always better to approach such subjects cautiously and let indigenous people determine the deoth to which such discussions should go.

Anyway, my 2 cents worth!

precis from the web:

Nourlangie Rock - Located south of Jabiru, Nourlangie Rock is part of the area known as the Mt. Brockman Massif. There are over 100 sacred sites in this area and some of them are designated sacred-dangerous (and therefore not open to the public). The area has a number of cave sites and there is evidence of quarries where the local Aborigines made their stone implements. Interestingly some of the caves include drawings of thylacines, Tasmanian tigers, which presumably lived in the area at the time the paintings were done.
There are a number of walks at Nourlangie Rock.including walks to the lookouts at Gunwarrde and Nawurlandja, a walk around Anbangbang Billabong and a short walk (from the carpark) to the excellent Anbangbang Gallery where depictions of Namarrgon the 'Lightning Man' and Nabulwinjbulwinj, a dangerous spirit who eats females after striking them with a yam, make it one of the most interesting galleries in the park.
Namarrgon the Lightning Man is a fascinating character who wears his lightning as a band connecting his arms, legs and head. The stone axes on his knees and elbows make the thunder. The story of the Lightning Man, as explained by the local Aborigines, is that Namarrgon, his wife Barrginj and their children, Aljurr, came from the north coast searching for a good place to settle. Namarrgon now lives at Lightning Dreaming which can be seen from Gunwarrde Warrde Lookout. When Namarrgon wants to make lightning he strikes his stone axes on the ground or against the clouds. The actual lightning is his children - Aljurr - which means 'little lightning'.
Both the Lightning Man and Nabulwinjbulwinj were actually repainted in 1964 by Nayombolmi (Barramundi Charlie) of the Badmardi clan in the style of the earlier works which were fading due to the weather.

[avandonk]

Thanks for the info KokathaMan and Niko. It was given to me by a friend who used to travel a lot in the outback of Australia. He told me it cost him quite a few bob and a few favours so I have no idea how much it cost him. It's monetary value is irrelevant to me. I was more interested in whether it was as good an example of fine Aboriginal Art as he indicated all those years ago.

It does look to be done in traditional materials or at least that is what it looks like to me. Under a 20x binocular microscope it has bits of grit or rock the same colour as the surrounding 'pigment'.

I have taken good care of it as he said that is what I should do with it.

If it was very 'priceless' now, I would be willing to donate it back to where more people could see it.

Bert

[GrahamL]

Its a lovely piece :)

this artist from oenpelli has the same family name bert and
a contact e mail ..good luck
http://www.aboriginalartprints.com.au/ab_gabrielmaralngurra.cfm