Natural earth pigments on eucalyptus bark

Acquired from the artist at Minjilang (Croker Island) by Lance Bennett, circa 1965
The Thomas Vroom Collection, The Netherlands

Australië: het land en de mensen, Rijksmuseum voor Volkenkunde, Leiden, 6 October 2005 - 27 August 2006

The painting has suffered significant pigment loss in the upper register of the three figures, and in some areas of the torsos, all visible in the catalogue illustration. All remaining pigments appear to be a good and stable condition, and the work has no repairs or restoration.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

Cf. Howard Morphy and Margo Smith Boles Art from the Land, Dialogues with the Kluge-Ruhe Collection of Australian Aboriginal Art, University of Virginia, 1999, p.37 pl.2.6, for a closely related painting entitled ‘Mimih Dancers’.

Lance Bennett’s accompanying documentation reads, “Namatbara was born about 1890 at Cooper Lagoon on the Cobourg Peninsula,♍ north-west Arnhem Land.

After the white buffalo-shooter Joel Cooper came to Cobourg and established a base cam😼p at Cooper Lagoon, Namatbara’s father worked for Cooper for many years. The artist was a childhood playmate of Cooper’s Aboriginal son Reuben, and as a lad, became a skinner for Joel on Melville Island. Namatbara༒ later graduated to the job of horseback buffalo-shooter, at which he became highly expert.

In 1912 Namatbara and his friend Midjaumidjau walked down the peninsula to the cattle station at Oenpelli near the East Alligator River to get tobacco. This coincided with the visit to Oenpelli by Sir Walter Baldwin Spencer (1860 – 1829), who was then Australian Government&rsqu✤o;s Chief Protector of Aboriginals✤ in the Northern Territory. At Oenpelli, Namatbara and other men painted some significant works on bark for Spencer, which the latter subsequently exhibited and published without identifying the artists.

About 1950 he moved to Croker Island. In 1968, feeling rea♛ಌdy to die, he moved back to his home country on the Cobourg Peninsula and is buried there.

The artis𒀰t has shown three mimih spirit women dancing. He explained that b🧸ecause mimih have very thin, supple bodies, far more pliant than human bodies, he has shown the mimih bending about as they dance.

Mimi venture forth only on still days. When the wind blows, they remain in their habitats ဣamong the𒅌 rocks for fear their long, thin necks may snap in the breeze.

The dancing spirits are shown being accompanied by a male mimih blowing a didj𝔉eridu, together with a mimih song man cavorting as he sings and beats his clapping-sticks.”