Two ceremonial spears ·  Tiwi Islands, presumably Melville Island · ID: 3033777

Description

wood, red and yellow ochre, white and black pigment, flattened spear tips, one of them lance-shaped with toothed rim, the second one bipartite, painted with delicate lattice pattern, slightly dam., paint rubbed off;
such spears were only made by senior men and were symbols of their wealth and status. Such spears took considerable time to make and were used for ceremonial purposes only.

The object Two ceremonial spears with the object ID 3033777 was last part of the auction 71st tribal art auction at November 24, 2012 on Zemanek-Münster Auction house and had the lot number 88.

Here you will find more objects and interesting facts about Australian art.

Comparing literature

Davies, S. M., Collected - 150 Years of Aboriginal Art and Artifacts at the Macleay Museum, Sidney 2002, p. 35