Find Lots

• Auction House:
  Mossgreen
• Sale Name:
  Australian Indigenous & Oceanic Art
• Sale Date:
  22 Jul 2014 ~ 6.30pm (Part 1 - Lots 1 - 198)
  23 Jul 2014 ~ 2.30pm (Part 2 - Lots 199 - 331)
• Lot #:
  51
• Lot Description:
  Clifford Possum (Tjapaltjarri)
  Atnepeywemp (A Big Perentie) (circa 1969)
  carved beanwood with natural earth pigments
  95 cm long
• Provenance:
  Private Collection, Queensland (late 1960s)
• Notes:
  Clifford Possum Tjapaltjarri and his brother Time Leura Tjapaltjarri were master carvers. Even when Albert Namatjira asked if he would like to learn watercolour painting Possum declined, 'No No, I do it my way, start from carving'.1 Rather than reproducing the traditional forms of the shield, boomerang and coolamon, Possum engaged his imagination to create innovative carvings of snakes and goannas from the softwood, Inernt, (Erythrina vespertilio), painting them in realistic colours and using shiny mulga seeds as eyes to enhance their vitality. Possum's carving is not conceived as a generalized or schematic representation of a 'type' of animal, rather it possesses the compelling presence of the creature itself; in this case Atnepeywemp, a big perentie (Varanus giganteus), the largest of Australia's lizards. Possum found that carving gave him the freedom to explore form, realizing in three dimensions the familiar characteristics of desert animals. His life-long fascination with space and form would later evolve into ambitious, two-dimensional compositions, on the surface of vast canvases, for which he is most famous. John Kean 1 Vivien Johnson, Clifford Possum Tjapaltjarri, Art Gallery of South Australia Adelaide, 2003, p. 42
• Estimate:
  A$5,000 - 7,000
• Realised Price:
  *****
  

  Can't see the realised price? Upgrade your subscription now!

• Category:
  Art

This Sale has been held and this item is no longer available. Details are provided for information purposes only.