Lot 91: MATHAMAN MARIKA 1920-1970

THE DJAN'KAWU C.1959

MEASUREMENTS

120 by 59 cm

Natural earth pigments on eucalyptus bark Bears Viart Corporation label with artist's name, title, medium, size and catalogue number GSSY185-TAD-48-01-00-B on the reverse

PROVENANCE Goldman Sachs J B Were collection The painting depicts the arrival of the primary ancestors of the Rirratjingu clan, the Djang'kawu, and a number of ancestral beings associated with them. The Djang'kawu sailed to the eastern shores of Arnhem Land where they landed (centre right panel) and created freshwater holes by driving their digging sticks into the ground, and they created the first human beings. Djanda, the goanna, was the first creature they encountered; the zig-zag track that runs down the centre of the painting is the mark made by the goanna as it climbed the sand dunes at Yalangbara, where the Djang'kawu landed. Other ancestors depicted are Djambawal the Thunderman (lower left) and Daymirri the Whale (lower left corner).