Balngarra Clan Body Design, 1995

165 x 73 cm

Est. $2,500 – $3,500

Hammer $1,600

Provenance: Maningrida Arts and Culture, Arnhem Land, NT, Cat No. 2967 Private Collection, Albany NY
Artwork story: Les Midikuria was a senior artist of the Rembarrnga/Kune language group and Balngarra clan, and was among the most important bark painters of Central Arnhem Land in the 1980s and 1990s. His work reflects deep ceremonial knowledge, particularly the designs painted on the chest and stomach during Mardayin and circumcision ceremonies. This bark painting depicts the Balngarra clan body design, its central vertical bands representing the watercourse at Kinidjangka and the surrounding tracts of higher country, dry ground, and ceremonial sites. The fine cross-hatching (rarrk) and triangular clan motifs map both landscape and law, embodying the ancestral presence of Bolung the rainbow serpent and related sacred beings. Created the year before his passing, this bark carries both artistic vitality and ceremonial weight, marking the legacy of one of Arnhem Land’s senior painters.

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Sale 2 · Lot 33

Les Midikuria

b. c.1938

165 x 73 cm

Est. $2,500 – $3,500

Hammer $1,600

Provenance: Maningrida Arts and Culture, Arnhem Land, NT, Cat No. 2967 Private Collection, Albany NY
Artwork story: Les Midikuria was a senior artist of the Rembarrnga/Kune language group and Balngarra clan, and was among the most important bark painters of Central Arnhem Land in the 1980s and 1990s. His work reflects deep ceremonial knowledge, particularly the designs painted on the chest and stomach during Mardayin and circumcision ceremonies. This bark painting depicts the Balngarra clan body design, its central vertical bands representing the watercourse at Kinidjangka and the surrounding tracts of higher country, dry ground, and ceremonial sites. The fine cross-hatching (rarrk) and triangular clan motifs map both landscape and law, embodying the ancestral presence of Bolung the rainbow serpent and related sacred beings. Created the year before his passing, this bark carries both artistic vitality and ceremonial weight, marking the legacy of one of Arnhem Land’s senior painters.