Lot 77: OLD MICK WALLANKARRI TJAKAMARRA CIRCA 1905-1996

RAIN CEREMONY 1971

MEASUREMENTS

63.5 by 40.5 cm

Bears Stuart Art Centre catalogue number 6026 on the reverse
Synthetic polymer powder paint on composition board

PROVENANCE
Painted at Papunya in late 1971 Sotheby's Fine Aboriginal and Contemporary Art, Melbourne, 17 June 1996, lot 233 Private collection, Sydney
LITERATURE
Illustrated in Bardon, G. and J. Bardon, Papunya, A Place Made After the Story: The Beginnings of the Western Desert Painting Movement, The Miegunyah Press, Melbourne, 2004, p. 79, painting number 85 together with a diagram of the original field drawings by Geoffrey Bardon This painting is sold with an accompanying annotated diagram and a description of the story depicted by Geoffrey Bardon. Bardon writes; 'The central spiralling line is the motif used to depict a dancing situation at a ceremony. The small U shapes that accompany this line are many men in commemoration. The central concentric circles with U shapes are ceremonial men at fires and the dotting depicts the prepared earth of the ceremonial area. The straight lines linking concentric circles on either side of the principal motifs indicate a long journey as being involved in this dreaming ritual. The short horizontal bars are music sticks and curved windbreaks are indicated in the central area. The large U shape at the top left hand side of the design is the principal Ceremonial Man'