Bark Painting
date: label: Accession Date
content: 2 May 1949
name: label: Donor Name
content: American-Australian Scientific Expedition to Arnhem Land
notes: label: Notes
content: TWO PANELS, WAVY BANDS CROSS-HATCHED, DIGGING STICKS, FOOT TRACKS AND ONE REPTILE. JIRITJA. (NARADJEN INFORMANT) THE TOP CROSS-HATCHED BAND IS A CLIFF, BELOW IT ARE WAVY BANDS OF YELLOW OCHRE AT GURANGA, CALEDON BAY, DUG OUT BY THE MAN WIRILI WHOSE TRACKS ARE SHOWN. THE GOANNA (BI-EH) DIGS IN THE SAME HOLES AS WIRILI. THE BIRD IS A NIGHJAR (GU:AK), ON A BIG TREE (GAINJO), WHOSE NUTS IT EATS. THE TWO DIGGING STICKS ARE USED BY WIRILI (ON EACH SIDE OF TOP PANEL). THE MIDDLE TRANSVERSE BAND IS A BANK OR CLIFF IN WHICH WIRILI COULD NOT FIND OCHRE. LENT TO THE EMBASSY OF AUSTRALIA 2/19/75. RETURNED 6/6/75. LENT TO THE COOPER-HEWITT MUSEUM, SEPT., 1992. RETURNED APRIL, 1993. EXHIBIT LABEL FROM "THE POWER OF MAPS" EXHIBIT: "THIS YOLNGU PAINTING REPRESENTS THE BEACH AND CLIFF FACE AT GURUNDA, CALEDON BAY, NORTHEAST ARNHEM LAND IN AUSTRALIA. IT IS ALSO A SPIRITUAL MAP AND SHOWS THE FOOTPRINTS OF ANCESTRAL BEINGS WALKING ALONG THE BEACH SEARCHING FOR YELLOW OCHRE. THE ANCESTRAL MEN USED SPECIAL DIGGING STICKS (SHOWN AT THE REGHT AND LEFT OF THE PAINTING) TO DIG FOR THE YELLOW OCHRE."
label: Record Last Modified
content: 4 Oct 2021
label: Specimen Count
content: 1
place: label: Place
content: Yirrkala, Arnhem Land, Northern Territory, Australia
topic: label: Topic
content: Ethnology
setName: label: See more items in
content: Anthropology
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: NMNH - Anthropology Dept.
identifier: label: Accession Number
content: 178294
label: USNM Number
content: E387467-0
objectType: label: Object Type
content: Bark Painting
physicalDescription: label: Length - Object
content: 94 cm
label: Width - Object
content: 54.6 cm