작품 상세

NARRITJIN MAYMURU 1916 - 1981 Djarrakpi, 1969 ochre on bark 130 x 65 cm; 145 x 80 cm (framed) PROVENANCE The Artist, painted in the Yirrkala region, North-East Arnhem Land Private collection, Qld Sotheby's, Aboriginal Art, Melbourne, 24/11/2009, Lot No. 102 Private collection, Vic Cooee Art, Aboriginal Works of Art including the estate of the late Mike Chandler, Sydney, 04/06/2019, Lot No. 44 Private collection, NSW Narritjin Maymuru was a senior ceremonial leader and artist of North East Arnhem Land. This painting depicts Djarrakpi, a major Manggalili clan site on the eastern coast of Arnhem Land, north of Blue Mud Bay. Central to the composition is a sacred object associated with the Marawili tree (either casuarina or cashew). Its surface is painted with a version of the Manggalili clan water design, representing the lake at Djarrakpi under varying conditions of wind and light. In Manggalili ancestral narratives, Djarrakpi was created at the conclusion of a journey that involved several ancestral beings, including Marrngu the Possum. Marrngu's spun fur is said to have formed the sand dunes at the site. Human figures in the painting represent the female ancestors connected to Djarrakpi: the Wurrathithi, who inhabit the seaward side, and the Nyapililngu, who were present when the ancestral beings arrived. They are identified by their possum-fur dresses. Digging sticks depicted in the lower register of the painting also refer to these women. @ NARRITJIN MAYMURU / Copyright Agency, 2025