Tjuringa

ClassificationsSculpture

Artist Aranda

Datemid 19th - early 20th Century

Made AtAustralia, Australia

Collection SiteSydney, New South Wales, Australia, Australia

MediumWood and pigment

Dimensions31 × 3 × 1/8 in. (78.7 × 7.6 × 0.3 cm)

Credit LineThe George Stanley Lodin Collection

Object number2015.17.36

DescriptionA tjuringa is a sacred object. Many different words for this item exist among the aboriginal peoples of Australia. In addition, the word is used to refer to different objects, songs, dances or stories. The meaning depends on the context in which the word is used, but all uses are associated with ancestral beings. As it relates to this object, tjuringa refers to a piece of wood or stone. The tjuringa represents the relationship between the person who possesses it, their ancestors and the cultural group to which they belong. Despite the fact that this example lacks decoration beyond its ochre coloring, tjuringas typically feature several designs of ancestral and ceremonial significance. Tjuringas were of particular interest to European collectors in the late 19th and early to mid 20th Centuries. As a result, there are a great many examples to be found in museum and private collections.

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