**Originally Listed At $300**

Trevor Nganjmirra (Aboriginal Australian, b. 1966). "Spirit Marakai with Dilly Bag" Acrylic on Arches Art Board, painted on January 20, 2001. A bold painting of the spirit Marakai sitting with upraised knees, legs with upraised knees and arms to Marakai's sides, and head in profile with a dilly bag (a traditional Aboriginal bag made of woven plant fibers) to one side by Aboriginal artist Trevor Nganjmirra, who comes from one of the greatest artistic dynasties of Arnhem Land. The spirit wears a garments with a woven netted pattern, but her breasts are revealed. All is finely delineated in a striking color palette of russet red, yellow ochre, black, and white. Also included is a photograph of the artist holding this piece. Size: 10.3" W x 14.875" H (26.2 cm x 37.8 cm)

Trevor Nganjmirra's father Bobby Nganjmirra (1915-1992) was the senior artist of the family and inspired a modern style grounded in Aboriginal rock and bark painting traditions. Trevor and his brothers learned to paint on rock and on bark from their father when they lived in a bush camp between Oenpelli and Maningrida. Most of the subjects depicted by the Nganjmirra family come from the family's lands east of Gunbalanya. Favorite subjects and themes include: white cranes, emu, rock wallaby, brolgas, jabirus, rainbow serpents, fish, crocodiles, barramundi, and mimi spirits. Trevor Nganjmirra's works have been collected by the Australian Museum in Sydney, Australia.

For more about the Nganjmirra family follow this link to the National Museum of Australia website - https://www.nma.gov.au/exhibitions/old-masters/western-arnhem-land

Also see Cf: Parker, Adrian. Images in Ochre: The Art and Craft of the Kunwinjku, JB Publishing, 1997.

Provenance: private Australia collection, painted at the owner’s home in Darwin, Australia and accompanied by a photograph of the artist with his work which was taken when the painting was completed - The artist is from the Kunwinjku clan of Kakadu, part of the oldest continuous culture on earth - estimated at 60,000 years.

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#147557

Minor stain on lower left and upper right. Otherwise excellent. "MARAKAI - TREVOR - 20/1/02) is handwritten in pencil on the verso.