Dhawadanygulili
(1900 - 1976)
BIRRIKUDA CEREMONY, 1961
natural earth pigments on eucalyptus bark
95.5 x 42.0 cm (irregular)
Estimate:
$3,600 - $4,800
Sold:
$3,840 (inc. BP)
lot details
Painted in the Millingimbi region of central Arnhem Land
Private collection, Melbourne
Related Works
Birrikuda Ceremony, c1963, collection of the National Gallery of Australia, Canberra
A Waterbird Dance, c1963, Sotheby's, Melbourne, 30 June 1997, lot 105
In this painting we see the Birrikuda Ceremony performed as part of the Manarrnu mortuary rites. Clan members dance around a sacred well, shown at the centre of the painting, performing the totems of the dead man, one of which is the Water Bird dance. Beside the well is a hollow log, to one side of the painting is a message stick carried in the ceremony and at the other side a figure representing the spirit of the deceased.