Item X 19887 Painting, bark. Gaagudju. Oenpelli, Western Arnhem Land, Northern Territory, Australia. c.1913

Summary

The figures in this work are identified as a pigmy goose identified as "pewi" and a barramundi called "prerlul". The two hands here appear to have been done with the hands or arms crossed. This work was amongst a suite of 64 bark paintings that reproduced images from the rock art galleries of western Arnhem Land. The paintings were commissioned for the museum by Paddy Cahill, the pastoralist at Oenpelli (now Gunbalanya) at the request of Baldwin Spencer.

Physical Description

A sheet of bark (Stringybark, Eucalyptus tetrodonta) painted with natural pigments. The image depicts a pygmy goose, a barramundi fish and the sillhouette of two hands.