1960s Aboriginal Bark Painting, Likely Yirrkala Mission

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Aboriginal Bark Painting, possibly Peter Wadaymu Ganambarr

It measures 11" wide across the top stretcher and 8" across at the … Read more Aboriginal Bark Painting, possibly Peter Wadaymu Ganambarr

It measures 11" wide across the top stretcher and 8" across at the base. The width is irregular, but averages under 2" in depth.

Eucalyptus bark painting with natural earth tones (pigments) and little binder. The fragile surface will require building a frame support to protect the surface and a double-box. I have shipped and crated to major auction houses and wish to ensure that your purchases arrive safely.

This bark painting has several marks and an Oenpelli Mission label on the back. The attached label reads:

"CHURCH MISSION SOCIETY - OENPELLI CHURCH MISSION - Arnhemland, N.T."

However, I do not believe the label is original to the painting. Far more likely, it comes from the Yirrkala region and the Aboriginal Mission.

A painted signature for the (supposed) artist is displayed towards the top. It reads: "Maljuwarama Amagula." "By Majuwarama" also appears on the bottom line of the label. After first acquiring the piece, I searched to identify this artist. There is no aboriginal artist that I can find with this spelling. A search for "Amagula" suggested the artist was Thomas Nanjiwarra Amagula, and perhaps "Malijuwarama" was simply a misspelling of Nanjiwarra. If so, the fact that Oenpelli had been crossed out and replaced with "Groote" might help to confirm this, since Amagula was from Groote.

More research suggests that alterations to the label and other elements on the back of the painting are false. Had it been the work of Thomas Nanjiwarra Amagula, it would be worth a significant sum. In 2009, a painting entitled "What Happens to a Man After He Dies" sold at Sotheby's for $132,000. His paintings are almost always constructed of Morse code-like dashes, rather than the continuous lines found here.

If I go back to the label before it was altered, and limit my search to artists from the Oenpelli Mission, all are said to have plain backgrounds. So, if not from this Mission and not by this most famous artist, who might have painted it? I believe an attribution to Peter Wadaymu Ganambarr or another artist from the Yirrkala Mission is most likely. Yellow ochre crosshatching and backgrounds that have a cubist-like composition are something they are known for.

Research regarding an important exhibition and cultural event where Peter Wadaymu played an important role is shown in the last two photos. The second (last) image is of one of his works. See less