AN ENGRAVED PEARL SHELL
168
ARTIST UNKNOWN
WESTERN AUSTRALIA
AN ENGRAVED PEARL SHELL
finely incised and infilled with natural earth pigments
16.0 x 15.0 cm
Estimate:
$1,500 - 2,500
Sold for $960 (inc. BP) in Auction 27 - 28 November 2012, Melbourne
Provenance
Private collection, Western Australia
Thence by descent
Private collection, Sydney
Of the animals shown, the lower right is a northern quoll (Dasyurus hallucatus), an attractive animal which lives in the savannahs of Northern Australia. The quoll features in the 'Coming of Death' myth of the Worora people whose traditional lands are outside of Derby in Western Australia. The bird may be Stone Curlew.