The Constellation of Baru (Orion)
Larrtjanga Ganambarr (c. 1932/4–2000), Yirrkala, Yolngu people, north-east Arhem Land,
Northern Territory, Australia (map), c. 1970
Natural pigments on eucalyptus bark
24.5 h x 27 w inches (62.2 x 68.6 cm)
Price: $1,000
From the estate of Steve Lewis (d. 1996), an anthropologist who collected this painting in Australia during the 1970s. The late painter, a Yolngu of the Ngaymil clan, is represented in several prominent Australian and international collections.
A nearly identical painting by Ganambarr is held by the National Museum of Australia, which describes the Wongar (Dreaming) scene thus: “In the Dreamtime the wongar spirit people held a big mortuary ceremony at Dararwoi in Arnhem Bay. Both moieties were dancing, 2 brolga men are shown, they are the songmen, the possum man Gabari is playing the didjeridoo, as the ceremony ended they changed into natural species. In the centre are two clapsticks and the didjeridoo which they dropped when they changed shapes. The camp fire is also shown the two higher stars are the Brolga men and the lower star is the possum. The crocodile man who was also present is shown in the lower part of the painting he appears as a cluster of stars in the sky” (NMA, n.d.).
Another very similar example is to be found in the collection of the University of Oregon’s Museum of History and Culture in Eugene, Oregon (vide MNCH, n.d.).
