Summary
This work depicts two arms and two feet together with a figure identified as a "palmated or pied goose (Anseranus semipalmata) called Kurnembo by the Kakadu tribe [with its] characteristic hard, horny crest on the head". Silhouetted images of hands are not unusual however these here are actual paintings of the lower arms. 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 pied goose and two arms and two feet.
More Information
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Object/Medium
Painting, bark
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Maker
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Cultural Groups
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Locality
Alligator River, Western Arnhem Land, Northern Territory, Australia
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Date Produced
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Collector
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Date Collected
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Object Measurements
1180 mm (Width), 50 mm (Depth), 610 mm (Height)
65,000 Years: A short history of Australian Art. The University of Melbourne.
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Keywords
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References
[Book] Spencer, Walter B. 1922. Guide to the Australian Ethnological Collection : exhibited in the National Museum of Victoria. 142.
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Collection Names
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Type of item
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Discipline
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Category
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Collecting Areas
Australian Indigenous - Northern Australia and Queensland and Torres Strait Islands