Lot 87: ANATJARI TJAKAMARRA CIRCA 1930-1992

KUNINGKA STORY 1973

MEASUREMENTS

61 by 79 cm

Bears Papunya Tula Artists catalogue number A731078, titled (Porcupine Danger Men Only) and a large annotated diagram in Peter Fannin's hand on the reverse
Synthetic polymer paint on composition board

PROVENANCE
Most probably painted at the Pintupi outstation of Yai-Yai, in October 1973 Papunya Tula Artists, Alice Springs Private collection, Sydney Sotheby's Aboriginal Art, Melbourne, 9 July 2001, lot 113 Private collection, Victoria Cf. For another painting executed by the artist during October 1973, that was featured on the cover of the catalogue and is representative of the Kuningka (native cat or quoll) Ancestor, see Sotheby's Important Aboriginal Art, Melbourne, 29 June 1998, lot 101 The diagram on the reverse indicates that the two larger circular motifs represent caves, where the animal, as indicated by its footprints, travelled from a cave in the Kintore Range towards the east. The various concentric circular designs surrounding are representative of different body paint designs for the ceremony According to anthropologist, Professor Fred Myers, who carried out extensive field work with the artist, this story may be part of the Tarkurrnga Story which involves an Echidna near Angus Hills and then goes eastward It is most probable that the word 'Kuningka' was incorrectly heard by Fannin as 'echidna' and that this painting is a further aspect of the artist's Kuningka Dreaming story. According to Myers, the Kuningka is not generally in the Kintore range area, however, the native cat (Kuningka) goes to Tikatika (south east of Kintore) where he finds that someone has speared and cooked an emu, which makes him angry before he goes west