Big sacred board "tjuringa" ·  Australia · ID: 3039378

Description

wood, reddish brown patina, dark pigment, oiled, slightly vaulted on top and engraved with diamond-shaped pattern, bulging on reverse side and decorated with concentric circle- and u-shaped motifs, slightly dam., minor missing parts, fissures;
concentric circles usually represent the principal feature of the myth portrayed, such as the spiritual ancestor, places where he camped, went into or came out of the ground, dristributed spirit children, waged battle with an enemy or rival, and so on. The curved “U-within-U” figures represent men sitting down, the number of “U’s” denoting the number of men.

Comparing literature

Mc Carthy, Frederick, Australian Aborginal Decorative Art, Sydney 1966, p. 29