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• Auction House:
  Deutscher and Hackett
• Sale Name:
  Aboriginal Art from the Luczo Family Collection, USA
• Sale Date:
  19 Oct 2016 ~ 7pm
• Lot #:
  12
• Lot Description:
  Jarinyanu David Downs
  (1925 – 1995)
  Dance Of Kurtal, 1988
  synthetic polymer paint and natural earth pigments on linen
  197.5 x 137.0 cm
  signed verso: David Dowzs [sic] / jorijonu; bears inscription verso: size, cat. 010/88
• Provenance:
  Commissioned by Duncan Kentish in 1988; Bonython Meadmore Gallery, Sydney (label attached verso); Holmes à Court Collection, Heytesbury, Western Australia (label attached verso cat. 2548); Private collection; Sotheby's, Sydney, 25 November 2007, lot 77; The Luczo Family Collection, USA
• Exhibited:
  Jarinyanu David Downs, Bonython Meadmore Gallery, Sydney, 18 August – 13 September 1988, cat. 22 (illus. in exhibition catalogue and front cover)
• Notes:
  The following excerpt is quoted from Kentish, D., Jarinyanu David Downs, exhibition catalogue, Bonython Meadmore Gallery, Sydney, 1988 The original accompanying certificate of authenticity stated in part: 'Kurtal is a Storm Being from the Ngarangarni – the Walmajarri word for the Dreaming. [...] When Kurtal entered Jarinyanu's country he was nearing the end of his journey. [...] Before a gathering of people from this area, Kurtal danced his final dance, metamorphosed into a snake, and sank into the earth where he remains today in a permanent rockhole spring. This spring supplied a reliable supply of water in all seasons, but in addition the old man would perform rituals at this site during the hot weather season to make Kurtal bring rain. [...] He is held to be responsible for and present within those particularly dramatic storms that usher in the break of the rainy season. [...][Dance of Kurtal, 1988] reveals Kurtal generating storms, with his arms and head enveloped in a cloud streaked with lightning and dust. A vertical snake motif suggests Kurtal's face is simultaneously the head of a snake, prefiguring his approaching metamorphosis. A band of cloud at his waist divides earth from sky. The lower section shows a grouping of women, girls and young boys. The women wear a vertical-striped body paint while the boys are painted with a snake motif.'
• Estimate:
  A$15,000 - 20,000
• Realised Price:
  *****
  

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• Category:
  Art

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