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• Auction House:
  Leonard Joel
• Sale Name:
  Sunday Fine Art Auction
• Sale Date:
  25 Mar 2012 ~ 2pm
• Lot #:
  148
• Lot Description:
  Boomerang
  Early Transitional Queensland Boomerang circa 1901-1910, possibly from Barambah/ Cherbourg
  carved hardwood with natural ridges. Incised on the front surface with figurative images including a spade, horse head and saddle and bordered by traditional designs, deep glossy patina overall
  61.5cm (length)
• Provenance:
  Private collection, UK
• References:
  Over the last few decades a rare group of indigenous cross-cultural objects have sporadically come to light and each time they raise more questions than are answered. A scarcity of information surrounds them and the fact that most artists are seldom identifiable lends the objects an intrigue, and on a both scholarly and collector level, a last frontier quality. It's only in recent times that academics and the dedicated few have begun to map this fairly uncharted, but important cultural territory
• Notes:
  ** Resale Royalty applies. Refer Leonard Joel website, "Buying - Resale Royalty" ** [4] Given Protector Galbraith's role within the community, it is feasible that he was either gifted the boomerang by an indigenous person (maybe a stockman or a tracker) or instead, Galbraith may himself have commissioned the decorated boomerang as a memento. It could be speculated that he was influenced by the avid interest in indigenous material culture held by his superior, Chief Aboriginal Protector Walter E. Roth. Known for his care and respect of the Aboriginal people, Roth was also an anthropologist and ethnographer whose 2000 strong artifact collection and documentation [5] was acquired by the Australian Museum, Sydney in 1905. Returning to the boomerang surface, the carved train filled with passengers, cattle, horses and cargo provides more evidence grounding it in the early 20th century and the Normanton region. In 1891 the Normanton-Croydon train line was built to service the export of gold discovered in Croydon six years earlier. The boom was short-lived and by 1907 the mines and towns were in decline. Until 1906 an A10 Locomotive ran on the line and photographs of this particular steam engine reveal that its features are exactly replicated in the carving down to its four coupled wheels with their distinctive 5 -spoke star shape[6]. The flower decorating the Galbraith boomerang provides an intriguing link to Barambah with a club from the SE Qld settlement boasting an identical motif [7]. Barambah was settled over the same period as Galbraith's Normanton tenure, so the existence of the same floral carving suggest that either two artists belonging to the same language group were active in separate locations, or contentiously, that the Galbraith boomerang predates many of the Barambah artifacts. Other Barambah stylistic attributes, primarily traditional markings including cross-hatching, as well as crescent shapes, arrows and beading used as decorative and framing devices are carved into the Galbraith boomerang's design. The club is purely embellished with geometric designs including the same arrows and circle designs found in Barambah art. Scott Rainbow, author of A study of the transitional art of Barambah/ Cherbourg Settlement in QLD (2009) and major collector of the art, has identified seven common recurring Barambah motifs and characteristics, two of which are featured in the 'Q^G' boomerang. Flanking the central panel are an incised image of a horse head and that of a saddle which Rainbow relates to Aboriginal stockmen, although, in this case they could equally and most probably symbolise the police upon decoding the letter and symbol stamp. The recreational activities of the Aboriginal stockmen, namely card playing found their way into the pictorial language of contact art and constitutes the second example of common motifs. Sitting at the boomerang's apex is a clear rendition of a spade. Carved inside it are the letters "Q "and "G" along with the broad arrow symbol. This symbol is a military ordnance mark which denoted government issued equipment assigned to the Queensland police as well as Aboriginal trackers. The stamp was operational in Queensland between 1890-1910, however it began to be phased out from 1901 once Federation occurred [8]. Whether this boomerang belongs to Barambah is not certain, however the rustic style of the letter G, the compositional structure and spare design differentiates it from the Galbraith artifact which exhibits greater embellishment and intricate detail indicating that it is by another artistic hand. Recognition for contact artifacts has long been overdue, but with an increasing number of studies by Paul Tacon et al and the Scott Rainbow collection, these special objects have been recast from ignorantly being best considered as curiosities and at worst early tourist ware into significant social, historical and cultural documents for indigenous and non-indigenous Australians alike. SOPHIE ULLIN [1] Tacon, P., South, B., and Hooper. S.B., 'Depicting cross-cultural interaction; figurative designs in wood, earth and stone from south-east Australia, Archeol, Oceania 38 (2003), pp.89-101 [2] Rainbow, S., A study of the transitional art of Barambah/ Cherbourg Settlement in QLD, September 2009, p.1, on www.artoceanic.com [3] Annual Report of the Chief Protector of Aboriginals for 1901-1904, http:/archive.aiatsis.gov.au./removeprotect [4] Percy Galbraith quoted in May,D., Aboriginal Labour and the Cattle Industry; Queensland from White Settlement to the Present, Cambridge University Press, 1994, p.64 [5] The artefacts were collected between 1898-1904 and majority were from Queensland. Khan, K., Catalogue of the Roth Collection of Aboriginal Artefacts from North Queensland, Australian Museum Scientific Publications, Sydney 1996, vol 2, p,6 . [6] Note: Normanton boasted a Victorian period railway station which in all probability bore its name in Victorian/Edwardian l
• Estimate:
  A$2,000 - 3,000
• 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.