Lot 188: CRUSOE KUNINGBAL , CIRCA 1922-1984 TWO MIMIH FIGURES Natural earth pigments on carved hardwood

Natural earth pigments on carved hardwood

160cm; 167cm

Collected in Western Arnhem Land by Dorothy Bennett in 1978
Aboriginal Arts and Crafts, Adelaide, 1979
Private Collection

Cf. Perkins, H. (ed.), Crossing Country: The Alchemy of Western Arnhem Land Art, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, 24 September - 12 December 2004, exh. cat, p.194, for two related figures by Crusoe Kuningbal

Kuningbal was a great innovator and a profound influence on other Kuninjku artists. In the late 1960s he introduced sculpted figures of mimih for use in ceremonies. This was an innovation on traditional practice, separate from the dictates of the art market or the public domain. The first three-dimensional mimih figures were modest in scale, but Kuningbal eventually increased the size of the sculptures to a human scale and beyond. The tradition of large mimih sculptures continues today, with Kuningbal's sons and other students of his creating sculptures over three metres high