Yirawala Sold at Auction Prices

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      • YIRAWALA, BARRAMUNDI, C.1968
        Mar. 30, 2022

        YIRAWALA, BARRAMUNDI, C.1968

        Est: $10,000 - $15,000

        YIRAWALA (c.1895 - 1976) BARRAMUNDI, c.1968 natural earth pigments on eucalyptus bark 32.0 x 92.0 cm (irregular) PROVENANCE Most likely painted at Minjilang, Croker Island, Western Arnhem Land Private collection, California Joel Fine Art, Melbourne, 5 June 2007, lot 18 Private collection, Melbourne LITERATURE Barramundi, illus. in Le Brun Holmes, S.,  Yirawala: Painter of the Dreamtime, Hodder and Stoughton, Sydney, 1992, pl. 43 ESSAY Yirawala was a senior member of the Nabon clan of the Kuningku language group from the Liverpool River region of Western Arnhem Land. Raised in a traditional manner by his father, Yirawala was taught clan designs, songs and stories that explained local traditions. This learning together with regular exposure to the Rock Art found in galleries on the surrounding escarpment directly influenced his practice. Yirawala and his family moved to Croker Island in the late 1950s where he was an important and influential figure. His bark paintings of major ceremonial themes, including the Mardayin and Ubar ceremonies, depict totemic creatures and sprit figures. The Barramundi was intrinsic to Yirawala's depiction of the Mardayin, a series of paintings that represent great spiritual power. The major creation ancestor for the Kuningku people, the great hunter Lumahlumah, walked the land and distributed names and powers to all living creatures and inanimate sites. Lumahlumah was the first to see and name the barramundi. CRISPIN GUTTERIDGE © Yirawala/Copyright Agency 2022

        Deutscher and Hackett
      • Yirawala (1903-1976)
        May. 25, 2021

        Yirawala (1903-1976)

        Est: $5,000 - $7,000

        Fire Stick Ceremony white pipeclay and ochre on bark

        Shapiro Auctioneers
      • YIRAWALA, (c.1895 – 1976), DANCING MIMIH FIGURES, 1960s, natural earth pigments on eucalyptus bark
        May. 25, 2016

        YIRAWALA, (c.1895 – 1976), DANCING MIMIH FIGURES, 1960s, natural earth pigments on eucalyptus bark

        Est: $6,000 - $8,000

        YIRAWALA, (c.1895 – 1976), DANCING MIMIH FIGURES, 1960s, natural earth pigments on eucalyptus bark SIGNED: bears old label verso with artist’s name, language group – Gunwingu [sic.] moiety – Dua, location and a description of the story depicted DIMENSIONS: 42.0 x 23.5 cm PROVENANCE: Most likely executed at Minjilang, Croker Island, Western Arnhem Land Native Arts Gallery, Sydney Private collection, United States of America, acquired from the above in 1970 RELATED WORKS Other examples of bark paintings featuring dancing Mimih figures are held in the collection of the Museum of Contemporary Art, Sydney, see Michael, L., (ed.), They are Meditating, Bark Painting from the MCA's Arnott's Collection, Museum of Contemporary Art, Sydney, 2008, pp. 196 – 199 The old label states: ‘Country inland from the Liverpool River. Ceremonial Leader for Maraian, Ubar and Lorrgon – last of the old cave artists and true ceremonial leader. The painting represents the mating of the first mimi man and woman by a waterhole below Oenpelli Arnhem Land. The old artist says that the mimi’s are spirit people now but once they were real but a lot smaller than present day Aborigines.’

        Deutscher and Hackett
      • YIRAWALA, (c.1895 – 1976), SACRED KANGAROO (KUNDAAGI) AND NORTHERN BANDICOOT, late 1960s, natural earth pigments on eucalyptus bark
        May. 25, 2016

        YIRAWALA, (c.1895 – 1976), SACRED KANGAROO (KUNDAAGI) AND NORTHERN BANDICOOT, late 1960s, natural earth pigments on eucalyptus bark

        Est: $14,000 - $18,000

        YIRAWALA, (c.1895 – 1976), SACRED KANGAROO (KUNDAAGI) AND NORTHERN BANDICOOT, late 1960s, natural earth pigments on eucalyptus bark SIGNED: bears inscription verso: cat. U/500 and old descriptive label DIMENSIONS: 87.0 x 48.0 cm (irreg.) PROVENANCE: Most likely executed at Minjilang, Croker Island, Western Arnhem Land Dorothy Bennett, Darwin (descriptive label verso) Private collection, United States of America, acquired by the vendor from Robert Ypres at the Native Art Gallery, Paddington, Sydney in 1970 ESSAY: Kundaagi, the Red Plains Kangaroo, is the ancestral being for whom the first Lorrkkon (second burial ceremony) was performed in western Arnhem Land. His mother, the creator ancestress Yingarna had collected the bones of the dead kangaroo and placed them inside a hollow log, also known as a Lorrkkon, and performed a second burial ceremony. Subsequently the ceremony has been performed by the Kunwinjku and Kuninjku people to mark the safe arrival of the soul of the deceased to the ancestral realm. The x-ray style of painting employed by Yirawala is characteristic of western Arnhem Land art and here features the internal organs of the kangaroo (the heart, liver, stomach and intestines), as well as the ribs and backbone, thus linking the image to death and the burial ceremony. The figure of Kundaagi is decorated in clan designs such as those painted onto the bodies of performers in the ceremony. Yirawala has drawn a variant of the design onto the figures of the three northern bandicoots which are likely to represent young initiates, probably from a different clan to that of the deceased, who attend Lorrkkon ceremonies for educational purposes. Kundaagi and the Lorrkkon ceremony is a recurring theme in Yirawala’s oeuvre. WALLY CARUANA

        Deutscher and Hackett
      • Yirawala, 1903-1976, WHITE FISH (LOOP LOOP),
        Jul. 27, 2010

        Yirawala, 1903-1976, WHITE FISH (LOOP LOOP),

        Est: $3,000 - $5,000

        Yirawala, 1903-1976, WHITE FISH (LOOP LOOP), natural earth pigments on eucalyptus bark, bears artist's name and title on a label on the reverse, 69 BY 31. 5CM, Provenance: Likely to have been painted at Minjilang (Croker Island), Western Arnhem Land Private collection

        Smith & Singer
      • Yirawala, 1903-1976, NOWYRAN
        Jul. 27, 2010

        Yirawala, 1903-1976, NOWYRAN

        Est: $6,000 - $8,000

        Yirawala, 1903-1976, NOWYRAN natural earth pigments on eucalyptus bark 61 BY 31CM Provenance: Likely to have been painted at Minjilang (Croker Island), Western Arnhem Land circa 1973 Private collection Cf. Sandra Le Brun Holmes, Yirawala Artist and Man, Milton: Jacaranda, 1972, pp.

        Smith & Singer
      • YIRAWALA 1903 - 1976 BUSH TURKEY AND SNAKE
        Nov. 24, 2009

        YIRAWALA 1903 - 1976 BUSH TURKEY AND SNAKE

        Est: $6,000 - $8,000

        bears artist's name and size on the reverse

        Sotheby's
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