Lot 6
Thomas Nandjiwarra Amagula(circa 1926-1989)How the Stars Were Made (Rolla-Mano), c.1960
2 December 2025, 18:00 AEDT
SydneyAU$8,000 - AU$12,000
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Alex Clark
Head of Sale, Senior Specialist
Merryn Schriever
Managing Director, Australia
Thomas Nandjiwarra Amagula (circa 1926-1989)
How the Stars Were Made (Rolla-Mano), c.1960
inscribed verso: 'How the Stars were Raised, Nangiwarra - Groote Eylandt, the first painting of this legend on Groote Eylandt'
natural earth pigments on eucalyptus bark
46.0 x 64.0cm (18 1/8 x 25 3/16in).
inscribed verso: 'How the Stars were Raised, Nangiwarra - Groote Eylandt, the first painting of this legend on Groote Eylandt'
natural earth pigments on eucalyptus bark
46.0 x 64.0cm (18 1/8 x 25 3/16in).
Footnotes
PROVENANCE
Groote Eylandt, Northern Territory
Church Missionary Society, Oenpelli, Northern Territory
The Collection of William McElwee Miller Jr., United States of America
Sotheby's, Melbourne, 5 June 2012, lot 57
Annandale Galleries, Sydney, Australia
The Sarick Collection, Canada
EXHIBITED
The Art of Arnhem Land: From the Collection of William McE. Miller, Jr, The Taylor Museum of the Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center, United States of America, 1966, cat. 18
LITERATURE
Robert L. Shalkop, The Art of Arnhem Land: From the Collection of William McE. Miller, Jr, The Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center, Colorado, United States of America, 1966, cat. 18 (illus.)
In 1921, the Church Missionary Society established itself on Groote Eylandt. Missionaries on the island encouraged artists to produce small, secular works depicting single animals which could be sold such as Crayfish, now in the collection of the Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney. The resulting works all share the same black background, derived from the mineral manganese which is found in large deposits on the island. Like his contemporary Nandabitta, Amagula quickly expanded his repertoire to produce complex and detailed narratives relating to Anindilyakwa ceremonial traditions and spiritual subjects. In the 1950s, the Reverend LM Howell, based on the island, commissioned eight sets of narrative paintings from Amagula and fellow painter Bill Namiayangwa. These important works became the National Gallery of Australia's first major acquisition of Aboriginal art in 1972.