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• Auction House:
  Mossgreen
• Sale Name:
  Australian Indigenous & Oceanic Art
• Sale Date:
  21 Jul 2015 ~ 6.30pm
• Lot #:
  24
• Lot Description:
  A Superbly Carved Narrow Shield
  Darling River Region, New South Wales (early nineteenth century)
  carved hardwood and natural earth pigments
  90.2 cm high
• Provenance:
  Gumbuya Park Museum, Victoria; Bob White, New South Wales; Private Collection, Queensland (acquired from the above)
• Notes:
  An exceptional parrying shield from the Darling River Region of New South Wales of characteristic lozenge shaped cross-section and triangular profile with gently curved boss and a deep cut handle. The shield bears an intricate and detailed regular pattern of parallel diamond shapes on one facet of the front, and a curvilinear variation on this design on the other facet. The deep etched lines have been inlaid with white pigment in more recent times. The overall effect of the pattern however is visually vibrant, possibly as an expression of the ancestral power embodied by the shield, and to enhance its efficacy as a weapon by dazzling the user's opponent. The intricacy and innovative variations of the pattern attest to an aesthetic dimension present in such a functional object that would have been used both in warfare and in ceremony. Three similar shields from the Darling River Region, one in the collection of the Museum of Victoria, and two in Christensen Collection at the National Gallery of Victoria dating from the same period are illustrated in Cooper, C. et al., Aboriginal Australia, Sydney: Australian Gallery Directors Council, 1981, pp. 84-5, plates S31, S32 and S33 respectively; and three from the Murrumbidgee and Lachlan River regions of New South Wales, also in the Christensen Collection are illustrated in Cooper:1981, p. 85, plates S26, S27 and S28. See also a western New South Wales shield bearing a similar design in the collection of the Australian Museum in McCarthy, F.D., Australian Aboriginal Decorative Art, Australian Museum, Sydney, 1974, p. 15, fig. 8. See also Brough Smyth, R., The Aborigines of Victoria: Melbourne: John Ferres Government Printer, 1878, pp. 331, figs.126-128. Wally Caruana
• Estimate:
  A$25,000 - 35,000
• Realised Price:
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• Category:
  Tribal

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