Attributed to Wattie Karruwara circa 1910-1983

The Thomas Vroom Collection, The Netherlands

Country to Coast: Colours of the Kimberley, AAMU, 12 January 2014 - 5 October 2014

In the printed catalogue we identified the painting as attributed to Wattie Karruwara and indicate that it was possibly by his 'father' Mickey Bungkuni (the artist who painted lot 61). However we are now of the opinion that the work should be firmly attributed to Mickey Bungkuni. The painting has been executed on a roughly hewn and gnarly piece of Kimberley bark, which has several holes from knots within the image. The painting has suffered many areas of pigment loss which are visible in the catalogue illustration. There are areas throughout the image where the white surface pigment is flaking; although relatively stable these areas may require some conservation in the future.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

This powerful bark painting of a Wanjina on bark is attributed to Wattie Karruwara, though may be the work of Mickey Bungkuni. The attribution to Wattie Karruwara is primarily based on the remnants of the fine pink stippling the artist has overlaid on to the white ground of the figure, so typical of the artist’s technique.

The roughly shaped bark, and the very loose nature of the construction of the Wanjina figure, suggests that this painting was done no later than the early 1960s. Similar paintings by Bungkuni and Karruwara were collected by a number of people in this period, including anthropologist Peter Lucich. Slightly later in the 1964-1966 period, anthropologist, John McCaffrey, provided prepared barks of more regular shape for the men to paint on.

The upswept rays that crown the head of this Wanjina, common to Wanjina paintings done by both Bungkunni and Karruwara, are recorded by John McCaffrey to represent ‘bundles of hair’ arranged in a complex hairdo, rather than lightning bolts. The hair bundles, in turn, grow from a band of  ‘lightning’ that flows from the head to outline the entire body.

The black oval of the sternum (biran-biran) rests on the chest, and a hairbelt (ngunuru or wanala) separates the lower limbs from the abdomen. Akerman has recorded that the stippled infill represented rain (kulingi) streaming from the solitary storm clouds that march across the Kimberley in the early wet season.

KA