Milmilngkan, 2010

138.5 x 42.5 cm

Est. $8,000 – $10,000

Hammer $7,500

Provenance: Maningrida Arts and Culture, NT Cat No. 1224-10 Aboriginal and Pacific Art, NSW Private Collection, NSW Accompanied by original certificates of authenticity from Maningrida Arts and Culture
Artwork story: In this work, John Mawurndjul presents the sacred site of Milmilngkan, a billabong imbued with profound ancestral significance. It is here that the Rainbow Serpent - Ngalyod - resides beneath the water's surface, embodying both generative and destructive power. Within Kuninjku cosmology, Ngalyod is a central figure, linked to seasonal cycles, rainfall, and the creation of sacred sites (djang) throughout clan lands. Mawurndjul, who lived near this site, evokes its spiritual force through the use of rarrk - meticulous cross-hatching that represents ceremonial power and ancestral presence. The patterning itself is symbolic, channeling the metaphysical essence of the Mardayin ceremony and the serpentine energies said to animate the waterhole below. This bark painting is a powerful expression of site-based knowledge and ceremonial law, offering collectors not only a masterwork of technique but a window into the cosmological foundations of Kuninjku culture.

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Sale 1 · Lot 13

1952 – 2024

138.5 x 42.5 cm

Est. $8,000 – $10,000

Hammer $7,500

Provenance: Maningrida Arts and Culture, NT Cat No. 1224-10 Aboriginal and Pacific Art, NSW Private Collection, NSW Accompanied by original certificates of authenticity from Maningrida Arts and Culture
Artwork story: In this work, John Mawurndjul presents the sacred site of Milmilngkan, a billabong imbued with profound ancestral significance. It is here that the Rainbow Serpent - Ngalyod - resides beneath the water's surface, embodying both generative and destructive power. Within Kuninjku cosmology, Ngalyod is a central figure, linked to seasonal cycles, rainfall, and the creation of sacred sites (djang) throughout clan lands. Mawurndjul, who lived near this site, evokes its spiritual force through the use of rarrk - meticulous cross-hatching that represents ceremonial power and ancestral presence. The patterning itself is symbolic, channeling the metaphysical essence of the Mardayin ceremony and the serpentine energies said to animate the waterhole below. This bark painting is a powerful expression of site-based knowledge and ceremonial law, offering collectors not only a masterwork of technique but a window into the cosmological foundations of Kuninjku culture.