Finely incised fluting across mulga wood, stone-axe carved, Fighting and Hunting Boomerang, rubbed with red ochre
Central Desert
Early 20th Century
67 cm long x 25.5 cm
with stand
$2,800
Provenance
Arthur Beau Palmer Gallery, 2006
Private Collection, Queensland
Private Collection, Sydney
Associated work
Swan-neck shape boomerang. [ZM 13/2/2006], Pitt Rivers Museum, Oxford England
Swann-Necked boomerangs were traded across vast regions of Central Australia; however, they were mainly associated with the Warlpiri and Warumungu people in the Tennant Creek area of the Northern Territory. Swan-Necked Boomerangs were used in both fighting and hunting; thrown into a flock of rising parrots or ducks from inland waterholes, these boomerangs had a devastating effect.
This mulga-wood boomerang, like many used in the early 20th century, were carved from the junction between a tree root and trunk, exploiting the natural curve of the wood to create a strong hook. When the boomerang was used for fighting, the hook might catch on an enemy’s shield or club and swing round to strike him on the face or body.
A Hooked or Swann-Necked Boomerang, early 20th century
$2,800
In stock
Finely incised fluting across mulga wood, stone-axe carved, Fighting and Hunting Boomerang, rubbed with red ochre
Central Desert
Early 20th Century
67 cm long x 25.5 cm
with stand
$2,800
Provenance
Arthur Beau Palmer Gallery, 2006
Private Collection, Queensland
Private Collection, Sydney
Associated work
Swan-neck shape boomerang. [ZM 13/2/2006], Pitt Rivers Museum, Oxford England
Swann-Necked boomerangs were traded across vast regions of Central Australia; however, they were mainly associated with the Warlpiri and Warumungu people in the Tennant Creek area of the Northern Territory. Swan-Necked Boomerangs were used in both fighting and hunting; thrown into a flock of rising parrots or ducks from inland waterholes, these boomerangs had a devastating effect.
This mulga-wood boomerang, like many used in the early 20th century, were carved from the junction between a tree root and trunk, exploiting the natural curve of the wood to create a strong hook. When the boomerang was used for fighting, the hook might catch on an enemy’s shield or club and swing round to strike him on the face or body.
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