A Western Australian Aboriginal Shield

Wood, pigment
Australia
19th Century

PROVENANCE:
Ex Adam Prout, 2013
Ex Private collection

Australian aboriginal songs and patterns are handed down generations. Their designs are traditional and the same song is always chanted for each one. Thus there is a strong link between a painted and etched design and the song that was chanted over it while it was being made. The design and the chant combined to give strength and power to the object.
The art of the Australian Aboriginal is appreciated today with a sophisticated aesthetic interest based on the study of centuries of world art and culture, but to the people of the Western desert this shield is important because it expresses their beliefs, satisfying an artistic impulse for the purposes of ritual and religion.