MusV_DT_3050

Title: A message stick from Northern Territory held in the Museums Victoria

Description: Summary: "This unusual piece was made for Donald Thomson who described it as a 'minature on a piece of wood'. Thomson noted it was the 'second bark drawing' done on 14th July 1935, the other being a bark painting by Wuluwirr's father, the famous Djapu leader Wonggu Mununggurr. These were the first paintings collected by Thomson in Arnhem Land. This work is very unusual being a painted onto a piece of wood rather than a sheet of bark. It is similar in size and form to a 'letter stick' or message stick, the surface of which is usually incised rather than painted. Wuluwirr produced two further work on bark for Thomson, and all these are the only known paintings by this man who died before WW2." Physical Description: "A small rectangular section of wood painted with natural pigments on both sides."

Creator of Object: Wuluwirr's father, the famous Djapu leader Wonggu Mununggurr

Date Created: 1935

Notes on date created: terminus ante quem

Item type: message stick in a collection

Subtype: traditional_context

Linguistic area 1: Chirila: Djapu Austlang: N145 - Djapu Glottolog: djap1238

Notes on linguistic areas: The origin of the message stick is Trial Bay, Eastern Arnhem Land, Northern Territory, Australia; Cultural Groups: Djapu

Cultural region: TopEnd_arnhem_east

Dimension 1: 189mm Dimension 2: 31mm Dimension 3: 9mm

Materials: wood

Source types: museum collection

Date collected: 1935-07-14

Institution/Holder file: Museums Victoria object identifier: MV_Item_DT_3050 DT 3050

Collector: Donald F. Thomson

Place collected: Donald Thomson, Australian Indigenous - Northern Australia and Queensland and Torres Strait Islands

Coordinates: 13°01'9.901200"S,136°32'53.001600"E  (-13.019417, 136.548056)

Media copyright: Museums Victoria The Donald Thomson Collection. On loan to Museums Victoria from The University of Melbourne. Copyright Museums Victoria / All Rights Reserved / Reuse May Require Cultural Clearances (Licensed as All Rights Reserved)

Notes on coordinates: Approximate coordinates for Trial Bay

URL institution: https://collections.museumvictoria.com.au/items/153156

Media Files:

Data Entry: Julia Bespamyatnykh, Piers Kelly