Australia
19th century
Stone
Height: 4⅞ inches (12.4 cm)
Provenance: Thorpe Gallery, Sydney; Joost Daalder, Melbourne
Churinga, which are also spelled tjurunga, are sacred objects of central Australian Aboriginal communities, understood to embody the spiritual essence of an ancestral being and held as the most restricted and closely guarded category of material culture in the tradition. Stone examples are among the oldest form, predating the more commonly encountered wooden churinga, and their ovoid, smoothed profiles reflect both natural selection of suitable stone and deliberate working over time. This example carries a surface of layered ochre, carbon, and mineral deposits that has developed into a deep, variegated patina of brown, red, and black tones consistent with extended ceremonial handling and storage.
The two documented Australian provenance holders, the Thorpe Gallery, Sydney, and Joost Daalder, Melbourne, place this piece within a chain of specialist collecting that reflects the object's recognized significance. Churinga of stone with strong surface accumulation and clear Australian provenance represent one of the more grounded categories of Aboriginal sacred material available to collectors outside institutional holdings.
We ship free anywhere in the world, fully insured, packed by hand.
Australia
19th century
Stone
Height: 4⅞ inches (12.4 cm)
Provenance: Thorpe Gallery, Sydney; Joost Daalder, Melbourne
Churinga, which are also spelled tjurunga, are sacred objects of central Australian Aboriginal communities, understood to embody the spiritual essence of an ancestral being and held as the most restricted and closely guarded category of material culture in the tradition. Stone examples are among the oldest form, predating the more commonly encountered wooden churinga, and their ovoid, smoothed profiles reflect both natural selection of suitable stone and deliberate working over time. This example carries a surface of layered ochre, carbon, and mineral deposits that has developed into a deep, variegated patina of brown, red, and black tones consistent with extended ceremonial handling and storage.
The two documented Australian provenance holders, the Thorpe Gallery, Sydney, and Joost Daalder, Melbourne, place this piece within a chain of specialist collecting that reflects the object's recognized significance. Churinga of stone with strong surface accumulation and clear Australian provenance represent one of the more grounded categories of Aboriginal sacred material available to collectors outside institutional holdings.
We ship free anywhere in the world, fully insured, packed by hand.
