MORNING STAR CEREMONY, c.1963

Important Aboriginal + Oceanic Art
Melbourne
6 October 2010
12

Galwu

MORNING STAR CEREMONY, c.1963

natural earth pigments on eucalyptus bark

87.0 x 48.5 cm (irregular)

Estimate: 
$6,000-8,000
Provenance

Collection of Dorothy Bennett (accompanied by label)
Sotheby's, Melbourne, 30 June 1997, lot 108
Collection of Robert Bleakley, Sydney
Private collection, Melbourne
 

Catalogue text

The accompanying label reads: 'In the time of myths, an old man sat under a tree on Melville Island. A Yam leaf drifted toward him and he decided to follow it. He paddled his canoe for many days and nights until he came to the Island of Ghosts (thought to be Elcho Island) where he found the Morning Star (Banambirr) hidden in a basket. An old woman guarded the basket, letting the star out of the basket each morning on a long string. The man persuaded her to let it fly out as far as Melville Island. The man returned home, but that same night his back broke and he died and he returned to the Island of Ghosts'.