# data[].collection.title
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Affairs Art (ATSIAA) collection no. 1

# data[].physicalDescription
A colour painting on bark featuring two snakes intertwined with brown, black and white cross hatching. The two heads are facing to the left and their tongues have three forks and there are tuffs of grass in the background. The background is pigmented brown with black boarder. There is a cylindrical stick at the top and the bottom each with string binding it to holes in the bark. On the reverse is handwritten text that reads "DAA10090".

# data[].significanceStatement
The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Affairs Art collection comprises 2050 artworks and other objects.  The artworks - which numerically dominate the collection - were produced by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities throughout Australia. The accumulation of these artworks into a single collection has resulted from the choices and selections made during a 38 year period by a variety of staff working for the Council for Aboriginal Affairs (CAA), the Department of Aboriginal Affairs (DAA), the Aboriginal Development Commission (ADC) and the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission (ATSIC) at the national, regional and local levels.

The collection spans the years following the 1967 referendum, when dramatic changes in the governance of Aboriginal people took place, up to 2005 when the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission was dissolved. It provides a snapshot of the diversity and changes in Indigenous art and its representation which occurred during the period of its formation. The small number of 'non-art' objects in the collection is also significant in providing insights into the working of the various Commonwealth bodies involved in Indigenous affairs. As well as the significance of many of the individual pieces, the collection is also significant as a whole, as a complex artefact stemming from Australia's history of governance of Australian Indigenous peoples.

# data[].isAggregatedBy[].title
Show all objects included in the ATSIAA  collection

# data[]._meta.copyright
Copyright National Museum of Australia / CC BY-NC

# data[].physicalDescription
Ochres on bark. Female mimi spirit figure smoking a pipe, with raised arms. Head, hands, pipe and feet in white and other areas are dotted. Brown background.

# data[].spatial[].title
Minjilang, Croker Island, Northern Territory, Australia

# data[]._meta.copyright
Copyright National Museum of Australia / CC BY-NC

# data[].collection.title
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Affairs Art (ATSIAA) collection no. 1

# data[].physicalDescription
A bark painting featuring segmented patterns of yellow, brown and white cross hatch markings. There is a horizontal strip across the middle of the painting with more markings and separated by a zig zag line. The painting includes a hand print motif in white near the centre.

# data[].significanceStatement
The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Affairs Art collection comprises 2050 artworks and other objects.  The artworks - which numerically dominate the collection - were produced by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities throughout Australia. The accumulation of these artworks into a single collection has resulted from the choices and selections made during a 38 year period by a variety of staff working for the Council for Aboriginal Affairs (CAA), the Department of Aboriginal Affairs (DAA), the Aboriginal Development Commission (ADC) and the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission (ATSIC) at the national, regional and local levels.

The collection spans the years following the 1967 referendum, when dramatic changes in the governance of Aboriginal people took place, up to 2005 when the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission was dissolved. It provides a snapshot of the diversity and changes in Indigenous art and its representation which occurred during the period of its formation. The small number of 'non-art' objects in the collection is also significant in providing insights into the working of the various Commonwealth bodies involved in Indigenous affairs. As well as the significance of many of the individual pieces, the collection is also significant as a whole, as a complex artefact stemming from Australia's history of governance of Australian Indigenous peoples.

# data[].isAggregatedBy[].title
Show all objects included in the ATSIAA  collection

# data[]._meta.copyright
Copyright National Museum of Australia / CC BY-NC

# data[].title
Bark sample of Bark of Brown Mallet (Eucalyptus Astringens) with paper label

# data[].collection.title
Australian Inland Mission Frontier Fete and Exhibition 1928 collection

# data[].physicalDescription
A bark sample with a paper label adhered to one curved surface. The text reads 'Bark of Brown Mallet / (Eucalyptus astringens) / Range: Eastern Districts / Tannin content - 40-57%'.

# data[].significanceStatement
This collection comprises material displayed at the Presbyterian Church's 1928 Australian Inland Mission (AIM) Frontier Fete and Exhibition, an event held over three days in April 1928 in Sydney's Town Hall. The collection includes a diverse range of the objects displayed there, as well as some of the associated display labels.

These objects were selected by staff, principally women, working at AIM homes/hospitals in different parts of Australia. They were responding to a call to send in objects which '... will give the city dweller an opportunity of visualising more clearly the conditions of inland Australia'. The collection relates to a significant moment in the history of the AIM. It co-incides with the beginning of the Aerial Medical Service and the introduction of the Traeger pedal radios - technologies which would shape how 'pioneer' life in 'remote' Australia became part of Australia's national identity. AIM events, such as the 1928 Frontier Fete and Exhibition, were important in promoting the work of the AIM. They acted as a focus for AIM's metropolitan supporters, as well as raising funds for AIM activities. The Aboriginal objects in this collection show that despite AIM being set up to provide a 'mantle of safety' for non-Indigenous Australians living in remote locations, many of these AIM nursing homes were enmeshed in complex relationships with local Aboriginal communities.

# data[]._meta.copyright
Copyright National Museum of Australia / CC BY-NC

# data[].collection.title
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Affairs Art (ATSIAA) collection no. 1

# data[].description
Mimi spearing a kangaroo - X-ray style  is typical of this region.  Painted and collected early to mid 1970's.  According to Aboriginal mythology Mimi's lived in the Dreamtime they possessed magic powers, this painting shows a Mimi spearing a kangaroo.  Xray style art shows the backbone and internal organs of an animal or bird some paintings show more of this detail than others.  kangaroo are a major toem and ceremonial leader from the Dreamtime of some Aboriginal people [ATSIC card catalogue].

# data[].physicalDescription
A colour painting on bark featuring an x-ray kangaroo with a spear in its chest. There is figure in the top left corner holding a spear thrower. The figure and kangaroo are pigmented white with brown and have light brown and white cross hatch patterns. The background is pigmented brown. There is cylindrical wooden rod bound to the top and bottom of the bark with string through holes. "Kangaroo Hunt / DAA / 987".

# data[].significanceStatement
The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Affairs Art collection comprises 2050 artworks and other objects.  The artworks - which numerically dominate the collection - were produced by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities throughout Australia. The accumulation of these artworks into a single collection has resulted from the choices and selections made during a 38 year period by a variety of staff working for the Council for Aboriginal Affairs (CAA), the Department of Aboriginal Affairs (DAA), the Aboriginal Development Commission (ADC) and the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission (ATSIC) at the national, regional and local levels.

The collection spans the years following the 1967 referendum, when dramatic changes in the governance of Aboriginal people took place, up to 2005 when the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission was dissolved. It provides a snapshot of the diversity and changes in Indigenous art and its representation which occurred during the period of its formation. The small number of 'non-art' objects in the collection is also significant in providing insights into the working of the various Commonwealth bodies involved in Indigenous affairs. As well as the significance of many of the individual pieces, the collection is also significant as a whole, as a complex artefact stemming from Australia's history of governance of Australian Indigenous peoples.

# data[].isAggregatedBy[].title
Show all objects included in the ATSIAA  collection

# data[]._meta.copyright
Copyright National Museum of Australia / CC BY-NC

# data[].collection.title
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Affairs Art (ATSIAA) collection no. 1

# data[].physicalDescription
A colour painting on bark featuring a serpent in the shape of a fish with a brown, yellow and white cross hatch pattern. The serpent has sharp yellow scale like featuring along it's back. Wooden sticks are attached to the top and bottom of the bark with string.The reverse of the bark has "$100.00" written in black marker.

# data[].significanceStatement
The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Affairs Art collection comprises 2050 artworks and other objects.  The artworks - which numerically dominate the collection - were produced by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities throughout Australia. The accumulation of these artworks into a single collection has resulted from the choices and selections made during a 38 year period by a variety of staff working for the Council for Aboriginal Affairs (CAA), the Department of Aboriginal Affairs (DAA), the Aboriginal Development Commission (ADC) and the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission (ATSIC) at the national, regional and local levels.

The collection spans the years following the 1967 referendum, when dramatic changes in the governance of Aboriginal people took place, up to 2005 when the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission was dissolved. It provides a snapshot of the diversity and changes in Indigenous art and its representation which occurred during the period of its formation. The small number of 'non-art' objects in the collection is also significant in providing insights into the working of the various Commonwealth bodies involved in Indigenous affairs. As well as the significance of many of the individual pieces, the collection is also significant as a whole, as a complex artefact stemming from Australia's history of governance of Australian Indigenous peoples.

# data[].isAggregatedBy[].title
Show all objects included in the ATSIAA  collection

# data[]._meta.copyright
Copyright National Museum of Australia / CC BY-NC

# data[].title
Bark painting depicting turtles and snakes

# data[].physicalDescription
Oval-shaped bark painting with ochres. The image is divided into two panels horizontally. One half is painted black and contains five white trees, two circles, two rectangular shapes and one triangular shape. The other half is red and contains a broad-leafed plant, two snakes, two turtles, and one rectangular shape. Outlined in white dots.

# data[].spatial[].title
Port Keats (Wadeye), Northern Territory, Australia

# data[]._meta.copyright
Copyright National Museum of Australia / CC BY-NC

# data[].title
Two Spirits, on Bark: Two  Spirit Figures. Inv:

# data[].physicalDescription
Ochres on bark. Depicts 2 spirit figures: 1 is tall with long hair springing from sides of head, & strands of some kind emerging from hips. The other is shorter & stout, with a tall winged headdress, short stumpy arms in front of body, enlarged male genitals & club-like fixtures to hips. Both are decorated with crosshatching & lines of dots on a dark background.  Title: Inv: 'Two Spirits', on Bark: 'Two Spirit Figures'.

# data[].spatial[].title
Milingimbi, Central Arnhem Land, Northern Territory, Australia

# data[]._meta.copyright
Copyright National Museum of Australia / CC BY-NC

# data[].collection.title
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Affairs Art (ATSIAA) collection no. 1

# data[].physicalDescription
A colour painting on bark featuring a brown fish with red and black stripes outlined with white. The background is filled with brown lines and yellow, brown and white cross hatching. On the reverse is handwritten text that reads "GA.01 / WAGI" and two stickers that read "ABORIGINAL DEVELOPMENT / COMMISSION / 2 0458", and "Asset No: N-1065 / ATSIC"

# data[].significanceStatement
The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Affairs Art collection comprises 2050 artworks and other objects.  The artworks - which numerically dominate the collection - were produced by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities throughout Australia. The accumulation of these artworks into a single collection has resulted from the choices and selections made during a 38 year period by a variety of staff working for the Council for Aboriginal Affairs (CAA), the Department of Aboriginal Affairs (DAA), the Aboriginal Development Commission (ADC) and the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission (ATSIC) at the national, regional and local levels.

The collection spans the years following the 1967 referendum, when dramatic changes in the governance of Aboriginal people took place, up to 2005 when the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission was dissolved. It provides a snapshot of the diversity and changes in Indigenous art and its representation which occurred during the period of its formation. The small number of 'non-art' objects in the collection is also significant in providing insights into the working of the various Commonwealth bodies involved in Indigenous affairs. As well as the significance of many of the individual pieces, the collection is also significant as a whole, as a complex artefact stemming from Australia's history of governance of Australian Indigenous peoples.

# data[].isAggregatedBy[].title
Show all objects included in the ATSIAA  collection

# data[]._meta.copyright
Copyright National Museum of Australia / CC BY-NC

# data[].physicalDescription
A length of light brown layered bark with a small paper label on it, contained in plastic bag.

# data[]._meta.copyright
Copyright National Museum of Australia / CC BY-NC

# data[].collection.title
Professor Henry and Luise Krips collection

# data[].physicalDescription
A strip of bark bent in half longitudinally with the ends tied together with commercial string.

# data[].significanceStatement
The Professor Henry and Luise Krips collection comprises 260 Aboriginal artefacts including weapons, ornaments and stone implements.

The Professor Henry and Luise Krips collection comprises a wide range of artefacts from all mainland states and the Northern Territory. Henry Krips was a symphony orchestra director and his work often took him and his wife Luise to Europe and Great Britain where they would purchase artefacts for their collection and bring them back to Australia.

# data[]._meta.copyright
Copyright National Museum of Australia / CC BY-NC

# data[].title
Bark painting depicting three decorated shield-shaped figures

# data[].physicalDescription
Ochres on oval-shaped bark. Painting depicts three shield-shaped figures decorated with coloured wavy lines on black. Figures in centre, around edges is a black border decorated with coloured wavy lines and 3 red humans. Red background.

# data[].spatial[].title
Port Keats (Wadeye), Northern Territory, Australia

# data[]._meta.copyright
Copyright National Museum of Australia / CC BY-NC

# data[].collection.title
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Affairs Art (ATSIAA) collection no. 1

# data[].physicalDescription
A colour bark painting featuring two possums each with pointed ears, long tails and one large eye. One possum has three bands of four brown stripes along its body and the other has four bands of four brown stipes along its body. The background is black filled with lines and cross hatching with white and brown pigment.

# data[].significanceStatement
The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Affairs Art collection comprises 2050 artworks and other objects.  The artworks - which numerically dominate the collection - were produced by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities throughout Australia. The accumulation of these artworks into a single collection has resulted from the choices and selections made during a 38 year period by a variety of staff working for the Council for Aboriginal Affairs (CAA), the Department of Aboriginal Affairs (DAA), the Aboriginal Development Commission (ADC) and the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission (ATSIC) at the national, regional and local levels.

The collection spans the years following the 1967 referendum, when dramatic changes in the governance of Aboriginal people took place, up to 2005 when the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission was dissolved. It provides a snapshot of the diversity and changes in Indigenous art and its representation which occurred during the period of its formation. The small number of 'non-art' objects in the collection is also significant in providing insights into the working of the various Commonwealth bodies involved in Indigenous affairs. As well as the significance of many of the individual pieces, the collection is also significant as a whole, as a complex artefact stemming from Australia's history of governance of Australian Indigenous peoples.

# data[].spatial[].title
Coffs Harbour, New South Wales, Australia

# data[].isAggregatedBy[].title
Show all objects included in the ATSIAA  collection

# data[]._meta.copyright
Copyright National Museum of Australia / CC BY-NC

# data[].collection.title
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Affairs Art (ATSIAA) collection no. 1

# data[].physicalDescription
A colour bark painting featuring a crayfish facing a snake pigmented black with bands of brown stipes. The crayfish is on a background of diamond patterns and cross hatching and the snake is in a background of oval shapes and cross hatching. "$56.00" is written on the reverse of the bark in black texta.

# data[].significanceStatement
The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Affairs Art collection comprises 2050 artworks and other objects.  The artworks - which numerically dominate the collection - were produced by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities throughout Australia. The accumulation of these artworks into a single collection has resulted from the choices and selections made during a 38 year period by a variety of staff working for the Council for Aboriginal Affairs (CAA), the Department of Aboriginal Affairs (DAA), the Aboriginal Development Commission (ADC) and the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission (ATSIC) at the national, regional and local levels.

The collection spans the years following the 1967 referendum, when dramatic changes in the governance of Aboriginal people took place, up to 2005 when the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission was dissolved. It provides a snapshot of the diversity and changes in Indigenous art and its representation which occurred during the period of its formation. The small number of 'non-art' objects in the collection is also significant in providing insights into the working of the various Commonwealth bodies involved in Indigenous affairs. As well as the significance of many of the individual pieces, the collection is also significant as a whole, as a complex artefact stemming from Australia's history of governance of Australian Indigenous peoples.

# data[].isAggregatedBy[].title
Show all objects included in the ATSIAA  collection

# data[]._meta.copyright
Copyright National Museum of Australia / CC BY-NC

# data[].physicalDescription
Bark painting in ochres of yellow, red, black, and white, depicting two echidnas with fine spikes and a striped backbone.  The left figure shows irregular geometric designs outlined in black and white, and the right figure has a black outline, infilled with solid colours.  The background is red.

# data[].spatial[].title
Minjilang, Croker Island, Northern Territory, Australia

# data[]._meta.copyright
Copyright National Museum of Australia / CC BY-NC

# data[].title
Bark painting titled Red Kangaroo by Djoni Bunguwuy

# data[].description
A typed paper label, probably from the Milingimbi Mission, is glued to the back of the painting. It reads:

'RED KANGAROO

This picture shows the red kangaroo and its friends which live in the pebbly country (white dots) on the mainland nearby. The dance tells the story of the kangaroos' hunting and, in turn, being hunted.

Painted by BUNGUWUY


Milingimbi Methodist Mission
Arnhem Land
Northern Territory'

# data[].physicalDescription
Ochres on bark depicting a long-leaved tree down centre. Along each length is painted a set of three kangaroos; yellow on one side and red on the other. Beneath the feet of the kangaroos are leafy plants. Also on the side of the yellow kangaroos is a black serpent. The background is painted red with white dots.

# data[].spatial[].title
Milingimbi, Central Arnhem Land, Northern Territory, Australia

# data[]._meta.copyright
Copyright National Museum of Australia / CC BY-NC

# data[].title
Bark painting featuring snakes and yams.

# data[].collection.title
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Affairs Art (ATSIAA) collection no. 1

# data[].physicalDescription
A colour painting on bark featuring a snake weaved amounts vine-like vegetation. The snake is yellow with a white outline. The vegetation is black with a white outline. The background consists of a black, white and brown cross hatch pattern. On the reverse there are four wood blocks attached and the code "DAA 981" written in black marker.

# data[].significanceStatement
The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Affairs Art collection comprises 2050 artworks and other objects.  The artworks - which numerically dominate the collection - were produced by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities throughout Australia. The accumulation of these artworks into a single collection has resulted from the choices and selections made during a 38 year period by a variety of staff working for the Council for Aboriginal Affairs (CAA), the Department of Aboriginal Affairs (DAA), the Aboriginal Development Commission (ADC) and the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission (ATSIC) at the national, regional and local levels.

The collection spans the years following the 1967 referendum, when dramatic changes in the governance of Aboriginal people took place, up to 2005 when the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission was dissolved. It provides a snapshot of the diversity and changes in Indigenous art and its representation which occurred during the period of its formation. The small number of 'non-art' objects in the collection is also significant in providing insights into the working of the various Commonwealth bodies involved in Indigenous affairs. As well as the significance of many of the individual pieces, the collection is also significant as a whole, as a complex artefact stemming from Australia's history of governance of Australian Indigenous peoples.

# data[].isAggregatedBy[].title
Show all objects included in the ATSIAA  collection

# data[]._meta.copyright
Copyright National Museum of Australia / CC BY-NC

# data[].title
Bark painting of a snake with cross hatching

# data[].collection.title
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Affairs Art (ATSIAA) collection no. 1

# data[].physicalDescription
A colour painting on bark featuring a snake pigmented with brown and white cross hatching patterns with small black dots with brown dots on top. The background is not pigmented.

# data[].significanceStatement
The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Affairs Art collection comprises 2050 artworks and other objects.  The artworks - which numerically dominate the collection - were produced by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities throughout Australia. The accumulation of these artworks into a single collection has resulted from the choices and selections made during a 38 year period by a variety of staff working for the Council for Aboriginal Affairs (CAA), the Department of Aboriginal Affairs (DAA), the Aboriginal Development Commission (ADC) and the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission (ATSIC) at the national, regional and local levels.

The collection spans the years following the 1967 referendum, when dramatic changes in the governance of Aboriginal people took place, up to 2005 when the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission was dissolved. It provides a snapshot of the diversity and changes in Indigenous art and its representation which occurred during the period of its formation. The small number of 'non-art' objects in the collection is also significant in providing insights into the working of the various Commonwealth bodies involved in Indigenous affairs. As well as the significance of many of the individual pieces, the collection is also significant as a whole, as a complex artefact stemming from Australia's history of governance of Australian Indigenous peoples.

# data[].isAggregatedBy[].title
Show all objects included in the ATSIAA  collection

# data[]._meta.copyright
Copyright National Museum of Australia / CC BY-NC

# data[].title
Bark painting featuring pattern with concentric circles

# data[].physicalDescription
Rectangular painting on bark with ochres. Depicts two sets of yellow and red concentric circles, a smaller set superimposed over a larger set which is ringed in red dots. A further row of red dots appears across the top and bottom of the bark, which has a yellow background. Decorated with white dots.

# data[].spatial[].title
Port Keats (Wadeye), Northern Territory, Australia

# data[]._meta.copyright
Copyright National Museum of Australia / CC BY-NC

# data[].collection.title
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Affairs Art (ATSIAA) collection no. 1

# data[].physicalDescription
A colour bark painting depicting a group of long-necked turtles, catfish and snakes. The bark is pigmented brown with brown, yellow and white cross hatching on all the animals. There are black, yellow and white line patterns on the background. On the reverse is a piece of paper with typed and handwritten text that reads "Artist: Muduk / ...". There are also two stickers one reads "ATSIC / A0000153" and PROPERTY OF / ATSIC / CRO / 00152".

# data[].significanceStatement
The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Affairs Art collection comprises 2050 artworks and other objects.  The artworks - which numerically dominate the collection - were produced by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities throughout Australia. The accumulation of these artworks into a single collection has resulted from the choices and selections made during a 38 year period by a variety of staff working for the Council for Aboriginal Affairs (CAA), the Department of Aboriginal Affairs (DAA), the Aboriginal Development Commission (ADC) and the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission (ATSIC) at the national, regional and local levels.

The collection spans the years following the 1967 referendum, when dramatic changes in the governance of Aboriginal people took place, up to 2005 when the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission was dissolved. It provides a snapshot of the diversity and changes in Indigenous art and its representation which occurred during the period of its formation. The small number of 'non-art' objects in the collection is also significant in providing insights into the working of the various Commonwealth bodies involved in Indigenous affairs. As well as the significance of many of the individual pieces, the collection is also significant as a whole, as a complex artefact stemming from Australia's history of governance of Australian Indigenous peoples.

# data[].isAggregatedBy[].title
Show all objects included in the ATSIAA  collection

# data[]._meta.copyright
Copyright National Museum of Australia / CC BY-NC

# data[].title
Bark painting depicting human with arms outstretched

# data[].physicalDescription
Oval shaped bark painting with ochres. The painting depicts a human with arms outstretched, with red ovals on the body and arms. Background consists of green and yellow.  There are concentric circles above the figure, and the ends of the bark are painted red.

# data[].spatial[].title
Port Keats (Wadeye), Northern Territory, Australia

# data[]._meta.copyright
Copyright National Museum of Australia / CC BY-NC

# data[].title
Bark painting 'The Rainbow Serpent Ngalyod and Ngalkunburriyaymi, the female spirit'

# data[].description
Title: 'The Rainbow Serpent Ngalyod and Ngalkunburriyaymi, the female spirit'.

# data[].physicalDescription
A bark painting worked with ochres on bark and on wooden restrainers. It depicts a large serpent surrounding a female spirit. The spirit has broadly striped lower limbs and crosshatched upper legs and torso. The serpent has a black backbone with an internal red line with white dots. Its head and neck are painted in red white and black stripes. The painting has a red background.

# data[]._meta.copyright
Copyright National Museum of Australia / CC BY-NC

# data[].title
Bark painting featuring pattern with concentric circles

# data[].physicalDescription
Oval shaped bark painting with ochres. Down centre are five sets of concentric circles, joined by curved parallel lines with a loop at the top. Along the sides and at the bottom of the painting are yellow scallops. Lines are in red with white dots, and the background is natural bark.

# data[].spatial[].title
Port Keats (Wadeye), Northern Territory, Australia

# data[]._meta.copyright
Copyright National Museum of Australia / CC BY-NC

# data[].title
Bark painting depicting a kangaroo and echidna.

# data[].collection.title
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Affairs Art (ATSIAA) collection no. 1

# data[].physicalDescription
A painting on bark featuring an echidna and a kangaroo facing each other. The echidna and kangaroo are black with yellow and white stripes on their bodies. The echidna has brown and black quills.  The background consists of white, black and yellow horizontal lines on brown. Wooden rods are attached to the left and right sides of the bark with string. On the reverse handwritten in black ink is "015/05", and "K74R". Also on the reverse is a bar code with the number "A0000265".

# data[].significanceStatement
The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Affairs Art collection comprises 2050 artworks and other objects.  The artworks - which numerically dominate the collection - were produced by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities throughout Australia. The accumulation of these artworks into a single collection has resulted from the choices and selections made during a 38 year period by a variety of staff working for the Council for Aboriginal Affairs (CAA), the Department of Aboriginal Affairs (DAA), the Aboriginal Development Commission (ADC) and the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission (ATSIC) at the national, regional and local levels.

The collection spans the years following the 1967 referendum, when dramatic changes in the governance of Aboriginal people took place, up to 2005 when the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission was dissolved. It provides a snapshot of the diversity and changes in Indigenous art and its representation which occurred during the period of its formation. The small number of 'non-art' objects in the collection is also significant in providing insights into the working of the various Commonwealth bodies involved in Indigenous affairs. As well as the significance of many of the individual pieces, the collection is also significant as a whole, as a complex artefact stemming from Australia's history of governance of Australian Indigenous peoples.

# data[].isAggregatedBy[].title
Show all objects included in the ATSIAA  collection

# data[]._meta.copyright
Copyright National Museum of Australia / CC BY-NC

# data[].title
'Banumburr', bark painting by Buranday Waynbarrnga

# data[].description
A typed paper label, probably from the Milingimbi Mission, is glued to the back of the painting. It reads:

'BANUMBIRR

This is a pictorial representation of the Banumbirr (Morning Star) ceremony of the Djambarrpuyngu people. Banumbu, the Great Spirit, has charge over the Morning Star (totem left and right). Each day he lets  the star rise above the clouds, travel across the sky throughout the night, and pulls it back each morning. The departed spirits of this clan follow the star to their eternal resting place - a small island. Sacred butterflies gather nectar from wild fruit to sustain Banumbirr

Painted by BURANDAY
Millingingimbi Methodist Mission
Arnhem Land
North Australia'

# data[].physicalDescription
Ochres on bark. Depicts morning star totems (poles with crosshatching, feathered strings on each side) at each side, centre right is a tall spirit, centre left is a large flowering plant with numerous butterflies & caterpillars gathered around. Red background.

# data[].spatial[].title
Milingimbi, Central Arnhem Land, Northern Territory, Australia

# data[]._meta.copyright
Copyright National Museum of Australia / CC BY-NC

# data[].title
'Banumburr', bark painting by Buranday Waynbarrnga

# data[].description
A typed paper label, probably from the Milingimbi Mission, is glued to the back of the painting. It reads:

BANUMBIRR

The artist has portrayed the Banumbirr (Morning Star) totems and Banumbu, the spirit of the deceased on its way to the home of departed spirits. To the right isa tree of bush food which supposedly sustains the spirit on its long journey. The sacred butterflies, which are already in the land of departed spirits, are collecting honey for the spirits.

This myth and ceremony belong to the Djambarrpuyngu clan.

Painted by BURANDAY
Millingingimbi Methodist Mission
Arnhem Land
North Australia'

# data[].physicalDescription
Ochres on bark. Painting depicts a spirit (black, centre) with 2 morning star totems on left & 1 on right (crosshatched poles with feathered strings). Far right is a leafy fruit-bearing plant. Numerous butterflies around, on dotted background. Red background.

# data[].spatial[].title
Milingimbi, Central Arnhem Land, Northern Territory, Australia

# data[]._meta.copyright
Copyright National Museum of Australia / CC BY-NC

# data[].title
Bark painting depicting Four Black Snakes.

# data[].collection.title
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Affairs Art (ATSIAA) collection no. 1

# data[].physicalDescription
A colour painting on bark featuring four snakes against a cross hatch background. The snakes are black with white outlines and are positioned vertically across the painting. Three snakes are facing the top of the painting while the fourth is facing the bottom. The background is formed through a black, yellow and white cross-hatch design with black diamond patterns at the top and the bottom.

# data[].significanceStatement
The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Affairs Art collection comprises 2050 artworks and other objects.  The artworks - which numerically dominate the collection - were produced by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities throughout Australia. The accumulation of these artworks into a single collection has resulted from the choices and selections made during a 38 year period by a variety of staff working for the Council for Aboriginal Affairs (CAA), the Department of Aboriginal Affairs (DAA), the Aboriginal Development Commission (ADC) and the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission (ATSIC) at the national, regional and local levels.

The collection spans the years following the 1967 referendum, when dramatic changes in the governance of Aboriginal people took place, up to 2005 when the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission was dissolved. It provides a snapshot of the diversity and changes in Indigenous art and its representation which occurred during the period of its formation. The small number of 'non-art' objects in the collection is also significant in providing insights into the working of the various Commonwealth bodies involved in Indigenous affairs. As well as the significance of many of the individual pieces, the collection is also significant as a whole, as a complex artefact stemming from Australia's history of governance of Australian Indigenous peoples.

# data[].isAggregatedBy[].title
Show all objects included in the ATSIAA  collection

# data[]._meta.copyright
Copyright National Museum of Australia / CC BY-NC

# data[].title
Bark painting titled 'Hollow Log Story'.

# data[].collection.title
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Affairs Art (ATSIAA) collection no. 1

# data[].description
This painting depicts the hollow log ceremony for the Liyagalawumirri group and incorporates the mythological events relating to the clan well in their country.  Two Liyagalawumirri sisters and a brother were living at Bambalangurr, inland from the coast adjacent to Elcho Island.  The sisters had left their husband and came back to live with their brother who was tending a fish trap.  The husband came looking for his wives.  The sisters had gone that morning to the mangroves looking for some shellfish and arrived back home at the same time as their husband.  They did not want to go back with him so they plotted to kill him.  Their brother greeted the husband saying, "Hello brother-in-law come sit by the fire, the husband came over and warmed himself by the fire it being June or July and getting a bit cold.  (He was a Yirritja Possum man).  The sisters then threw burning coals from the fire on him burning him severely, but he was able to run away, furious with their attempt to kill him. .....

It is possible now to see the fishtrap and hollow log coffin in the Milky Way.  the hollow log has fire burning on both sides, the fish bones, scales, forked post and crosspole are clearly visible.  The painting itself sometimes often includes the native cat which is an important token of the Liyagalawumirri clan.

It is believed that in the dreamtime spirits took forms of various animals and plant species that have come to be totems of the different Aboriginal clans and moeities.  ...  [ATSIC card catalogue]

(there is a card missing from the catalogue which further describes the painting).

# data[].physicalDescription
A painting on bark featuring two turtles, a snake, a bird and three club like objects. The turtles and bird are black with brown, white and yellow cross hatch patterns on their bodies. The snake is yellow with a brown head and tail. Two of the club like objects are yellow with a white centre section  and the other is yellow with a red centre section.  The background is brown with insect like animals scattered throughout the spaces. On the reverse is the code "SY01 /IEE..." in black marker. Also there are two pieces of paper with typed text. The first page has the heading "HOLLOW LOG STORY (DIRUNA)" and relates the story of th painting and the ceremony. The second paper explains the significance of the objects in the painting to the artist, and starts "It is believed that in the dream time spirits took forms of various animals and plant species / that have come to be totems..."

# data[].significanceStatement
The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Affairs Art collection comprises 2050 artworks and other objects.  The artworks - which numerically dominate the collection - were produced by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities throughout Australia. The accumulation of these artworks into a single collection has resulted from the choices and selections made during a 38 year period by a variety of staff working for the Council for Aboriginal Affairs (CAA), the Department of Aboriginal Affairs (DAA), the Aboriginal Development Commission (ADC) and the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission (ATSIC) at the national, regional and local levels.

The collection spans the years following the 1967 referendum, when dramatic changes in the governance of Aboriginal people took place, up to 2005 when the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission was dissolved. It provides a snapshot of the diversity and changes in Indigenous art and its representation which occurred during the period of its formation. The small number of 'non-art' objects in the collection is also significant in providing insights into the working of the various Commonwealth bodies involved in Indigenous affairs. As well as the significance of many of the individual pieces, the collection is also significant as a whole, as a complex artefact stemming from Australia's history of governance of Australian Indigenous peoples.

# data[].isAggregatedBy[].title
Show all objects included in the ATSIAA  collection

# data[]._meta.copyright
Copyright National Museum of Australia / CC BY-NC

# data[].title
Bark painting - The Thwathu Scerpent Rainbow' by Lindsay Roughsey, 1969

# data[].physicalDescription
Ochres on bark in wooden box frame. Depicts a large creature like a crocodile with a fringed tail on a wavy vertical band of crosshatching. To either side are 3 fish (6 in all), decorated with dots. Background is white with diagonal parallel bands of coloured dashes. Artist: Burrud (Lardil Tribe). Title is recorded in exact words of artist.

# data[]._meta.copyright
Copyright National Museum of Australia / CC BY-NC

# data[].title
Bark painting depicting pattern of diamond shapes and concentric circles

# data[].physicalDescription
Ochres on bark. Corners cut off bark to produce basic oval shape with pointed ends. Line of diamond shapes down centre of bark; each containing concentric circles, with more concentric circles to either side. Circles and diamond shapes are yellow and black with white dots. Purple background. In one area of bark, two sets of circles appear to have been removed.

# data[].spatial[].title
Port Keats (Wadeye), Northern Territory, Australia

# data[]._meta.copyright
Copyright National Museum of Australia / CC BY-NC

# data[].title
Bark painting depicting a figure squatting

# data[].collection.title
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Affairs Art (ATSIAA) collection no. 1

# data[].physicalDescription
A painting on bark featuring a figure squatting, patterned with black, brown, white and yellow cross hatchings. The figure has long white nails on the fingers and toes and is separated into sections by yellow lines with black and white dots.

# data[].significanceStatement
The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Affairs Art collection comprises 2050 artworks and other objects.  The artworks - which numerically dominate the collection - were produced by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities throughout Australia. The accumulation of these artworks into a single collection has resulted from the choices and selections made during a 38 year period by a variety of staff working for the Council for Aboriginal Affairs (CAA), the Department of Aboriginal Affairs (DAA), the Aboriginal Development Commission (ADC) and the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission (ATSIC) at the national, regional and local levels.

The collection spans the years following the 1967 referendum, when dramatic changes in the governance of Aboriginal people took place, up to 2005 when the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission was dissolved. It provides a snapshot of the diversity and changes in Indigenous art and its representation which occurred during the period of its formation. The small number of 'non-art' objects in the collection is also significant in providing insights into the working of the various Commonwealth bodies involved in Indigenous affairs. As well as the significance of many of the individual pieces, the collection is also significant as a whole, as a complex artefact stemming from Australia's history of governance of Australian Indigenous peoples.

# data[].isAggregatedBy[].title
Show all objects included in the ATSIAA  collection

# data[]._meta.copyright
Copyright National Museum of Australia / CC BY-NC

# data[].physicalDescription
Ochres on bark, in wooden box frame. Depicts 6 figures; 1 lying across bottom of bark; 1 in centre with fringed string over head; 2 left, 1 of which is short & legless with large ears; 2 to right, 1 of which has a dog on a leash. All painted in white with red & black decorations. Dark brown background.

# data[].spatial[].title
Gunbalanya (Oenpelli), Western Arnhem Land, Northern Territory, Australia

# data[]._meta.copyright
Copyright National Museum of Australia / CC BY-NC

# data[].physicalDescription
Ochres on bark. Depicts 3 serpents, 2 to the left facing 1 to the right. All have black heads & tails, & crosshatched bodies. Between the 2 left is a row of 3 white ovals, possibly eggs. Between centre left & right serpents is a single white circle, a long black shape with yellow stripes & 3 crosshatched shapes. More to far left lower, & far right. Background black & brown. Note states that snakes are Wongar Snakes (left) talking to Yurrlunggur (right) .

# data[].spatial[].title
Maningrida, West Arnhem Land, Northern Territory, Australia

# data[]._meta.copyright
Copyright National Museum of Australia / CC BY-NC

# data[].title
Bark painting depicting two Mimi figures

# data[].physicalDescription
Ochres on bark, in wooden box frame. Depicts two male Mimi with elbows slightly bent and heads facing right. Both painted in white, with black, white and yellow crosshatching on bodies. Red background.

# data[].significanceStatement
The Sandra Holmes collection no. 6 comprises a bark painting and a wooden sculpture.  The painting is in a wooden box frame. It has been executed in ochres on bark, featuring a rectangle with two rounded forms on the top, decorated in bands of colour with white dots. The bands are divided into  triangular designs of intricate rarrk patterning and crosshatched in yellow and white on a red background.  The sculpture is of a bird standing on a half-spherical wooden base. The paint design consists of a solid black background on which the head, throat and breast of the bird are outlined in white and filled with  solid colour of red or yellow, and the wings outlined in white and filled with yellow and white dashes. The pigment colours of yellow, black and white are those traditionally used in the Northern Territory. 
 
Both objects in this collection are associated with death. The bark painting is believed to be from Croker Island. The two forms on the bark painting represent the hollow log ceremony or lorrkon traditionally performed on Croker Island. In this ceremony the bones of a dead person are  placed in a hollow log coffin and their spirits sent via a sacred string to the spirit world.  The criss-cross section and vertical lines are said to represent the dancing ground and log. The carved bird is said to represent the death bird from the Northern Territory. The death bird is a messenger of death and accompanies the dead person back to the spirit world.  Sandra Holmes worked for some years as an anthropological researcher for the Australian Institute of Aboriginal Studies (AIS now AIATSIS).  Throughout this time, she assembled a vast collection of Tiwi and Northern Territory Aboriginal art, and recorded and photographed a number of ceremonies for the Institute’s Canberra archives.  The largest collection of her art, the “Holmes-Tiwi Collection”, is currently held in the Museum and Art Galleries of the Northern Territory, Darwin.

# data[].spatial[].title
Minjilang, Croker Island, Northern Territory, Australia

# data[]._meta.copyright
Copyright National Museum of Australia / CC BY-NC

# data[].title
Bark painting of a boat with seven figures

# data[].collection.title
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Affairs Art (ATSIAA) collection no. 1

# data[].physicalDescription
A bark painting depicting a boat viewed from the side, with seven figures standing in the boat with their arms in the air. The side of the boat has a design of four concentric circles in white, black and yellow and is in-filled with a cross hatched pattern. The background of the painting is not pigmented. On the reverse are two stickers, one reads 'AAQ 39/1' and the other reads 'F0008581'.

# data[].significanceStatement
The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Affairs Art collection comprises 2050 artworks and other objects.  The artworks - which numerically dominate the collection - were produced by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities throughout Australia. The accumulation of these artworks into a single collection has resulted from the choices and selections made during a 38 year period by a variety of staff working for the Council for Aboriginal Affairs (CAA), the Department of Aboriginal Affairs (DAA), the Aboriginal Development Commission (ADC) and the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission (ATSIC) at the national, regional and local levels.

The collection spans the years following the 1967 referendum, when dramatic changes in the governance of Aboriginal people took place, up to 2005 when the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission was dissolved. It provides a snapshot of the diversity and changes in Indigenous art and its representation which occurred during the period of its formation. The small number of 'non-art' objects in the collection is also significant in providing insights into the working of the various Commonwealth bodies involved in Indigenous affairs. As well as the significance of many of the individual pieces, the collection is also significant as a whole, as a complex artefact stemming from Australia's history of governance of Australian Indigenous peoples.

# data[].isAggregatedBy[].title
Show all objects included in the ATSIAA  collection

# data[]._meta.copyright
Copyright National Museum of Australia / CC BY-NC

# data[].physicalDescription
A black fish with striped bands on its tail on a cross-hatched background.

# data[]._meta.copyright
Copyright National Museum of Australia / CC BY-NC

# data[].title
Bark painting depicting two female Mimis

# data[].collection.title
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Affairs Art (ATSIAA) collection no. 1

# data[].physicalDescription
A bark painting featuring two female figures pigmented brown with cross hatch patterns. The background is pigmented with black. At the top and bottom are cylindrical sticks bound to the bark with wool. On the reverse is handwritten text that reads "100 Y 89", a paper label and "AAAB/78/6830" written in black on a white paint. There are four blocks on the back of the bark painting.

# data[].significanceStatement
The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Affairs Art collection comprises 2050 artworks and other objects.  The artworks - which numerically dominate the collection - were produced by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities throughout Australia. The accumulation of these artworks into a single collection has resulted from the choices and selections made during a 38 year period by a variety of staff working for the Council for Aboriginal Affairs (CAA), the Department of Aboriginal Affairs (DAA), the Aboriginal Development Commission (ADC) and the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission (ATSIC) at the national, regional and local levels.

The collection spans the years following the 1967 referendum, when dramatic changes in the governance of Aboriginal people took place, up to 2005 when the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission was dissolved. It provides a snapshot of the diversity and changes in Indigenous art and its representation which occurred during the period of its formation. The small number of 'non-art' objects in the collection is also significant in providing insights into the working of the various Commonwealth bodies involved in Indigenous affairs. As well as the significance of many of the individual pieces, the collection is also significant as a whole, as a complex artefact stemming from Australia's history of governance of Australian Indigenous peoples.

# data[].isAggregatedBy[].title
Show all objects included in the ATSIAA  collection

# data[]._meta.copyright
Copyright National Museum of Australia / CC BY-NC

# data[].title
Bark painting featuring yellow, red and black design

# data[].physicalDescription
Oval shaped bark painting with ochres. Around the edges are large red scallops, outlined in yellow with white dots. The centre of the bark is painted black.

# data[].spatial[].title
Port Keats (Wadeye), Northern Territory, Australia

# data[]._meta.copyright
Copyright National Museum of Australia / CC BY-NC

# data[].title
Bark painting depicting mythical creature

# data[].physicalDescription
Ochres on bark. Mythical creature with four legs, two horns and two tails, with crosshatching and dotted bands. Red background. Typewritten text glued to reverse.

# data[].spatial[].title
Marrkolidjban, Arnhem Land, Northern Territory, Australia

# data[]._meta.copyright
Copyright National Museum of Australia / CC BY-NC

# data[].title
Bark painting depicting a Wandjina figure

# data[].collection.title
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Affairs Art (ATSIAA) collection no. 1

# data[].description
"The Wandjina is an ancestral being from the NW Australia.  It is believed this being came from clouds and for a time lived on earth, before returning from where they came they painted images of themselves and the rock walls and told Aborigines to retouch the paintings so they would never be forgotten."  [ATSIC card catalogue]

# data[].physicalDescription
A painting on bark featuring a Wandjina figure with black eyes and a black nose. The figure is outlined in brown and has a dot pattern on the arms torso and legs. The bark is square at the bottom but rounded at the top. On the reverse are handwritten numbers "101" and "AAB-80-65".

# data[].significanceStatement
The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Affairs Art collection comprises 2050 artworks and other objects.  The artworks - which numerically dominate the collection - were produced by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities throughout Australia. The accumulation of these artworks into a single collection has resulted from the choices and selections made during a 38 year period by a variety of staff working for the Council for Aboriginal Affairs (CAA), the Department of Aboriginal Affairs (DAA), the Aboriginal Development Commission (ADC) and the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission (ATSIC) at the national, regional and local levels.

The collection spans the years following the 1967 referendum, when dramatic changes in the governance of Aboriginal people took place, up to 2005 when the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission was dissolved. It provides a snapshot of the diversity and changes in Indigenous art and its representation which occurred during the period of its formation. The small number of 'non-art' objects in the collection is also significant in providing insights into the working of the various Commonwealth bodies involved in Indigenous affairs. As well as the significance of many of the individual pieces, the collection is also significant as a whole, as a complex artefact stemming from Australia's history of governance of Australian Indigenous peoples.

# data[].isAggregatedBy[].title
Show all objects included in the ATSIAA  collection

# data[]._meta.copyright
Copyright National Museum of Australia / CC BY-NC

# data[].title
Bark painting - untitled by Murrungun, 1982

# data[].collection.title
Maningrida Arts and Crafts 1982 collection

# data[].physicalDescription
Ochres on bark, wooden block glued to back. Painting divided into 2 panels by horizontal bands, crosshatched & white dots on red. Similar bands at top & bottom of painting. Each panel contains several figures like bulbs, 2 or 3 joined together at tips. Bulbs are crosshatched. Top panel also contains a white-outlined footprint. Backgrounds are red, yellow, black & crosshatched.

# data[].spatial[].title
Maningrida, West Arnhem Land, Northern Territory, Australia

# data[]._meta.copyright
Copyright National Museum of Australia / CC BY-NC

# data[].title
Bark painting Freshwater Turtles and Grass Snakes by Djikululu

# data[].physicalDescription
Ochres on bark depicting two turtles, two snakes and a lizard amid various kinds of foliage. The turtles' backs are segmented into red, black and crosshatching. The snakes are yellow with coloured dots along spine. The lizard is yellow with bands of red and white-dotted black. Painting is on a red background.

# data[].spatial[].title
Milingimbi, Central Arnhem Land, Northern Territory, Australia

# data[]._meta.copyright
Copyright National Museum of Australia / CC BY-NC

# data[].title
A school of young snappers (x-ray style), Bark:  X-ray barramundi.  Inv:

# data[].physicalDescription
Ochres on bark. Depicts five fish: one large central fish with two smaller fish on either side. Painted in x-ray style on white background. Outlined in red, bodies decorated with red, black and yellow crosshatching and red, black and white dots. Red fins and tails.

# data[]._meta.copyright
Copyright National Museum of Australia / CC BY-NC

# data[].title
Bark painting of a dingo surrounded by figures

# data[].collection.title
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Affairs Art (ATSIAA) collection no. 1

# data[].physicalDescription
A colour bark painting featuring a central dingo pigmented brown with white outline. Surrounding the dingo is two long figures and several smaller figures and skulls and arms and legs on a black background. There are small white dots around the border. The bark is block mounted to a masonite painted black.

# data[].significanceStatement
The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Affairs Art collection comprises 2050 artworks and other objects.  The artworks - which numerically dominate the collection - were produced by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities throughout Australia. The accumulation of these artworks into a single collection has resulted from the choices and selections made during a 38 year period by a variety of staff working for the Council for Aboriginal Affairs (CAA), the Department of Aboriginal Affairs (DAA), the Aboriginal Development Commission (ADC) and the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission (ATSIC) at the national, regional and local levels.

The collection spans the years following the 1967 referendum, when dramatic changes in the governance of Aboriginal people took place, up to 2005 when the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission was dissolved. It provides a snapshot of the diversity and changes in Indigenous art and its representation which occurred during the period of its formation. The small number of 'non-art' objects in the collection is also significant in providing insights into the working of the various Commonwealth bodies involved in Indigenous affairs. As well as the significance of many of the individual pieces, the collection is also significant as a whole, as a complex artefact stemming from Australia's history of governance of Australian Indigenous peoples.

# data[].isAggregatedBy[].title
Show all objects included in the ATSIAA  collection

# data[]._meta.copyright
Copyright National Museum of Australia / CC BY-NC

# data[].title
Bark painting titled 'An underground tuber and its vines'.

# data[].collection.title
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Affairs Art (ATSIAA) collection no. 1

# data[].physicalDescription
A bark painting featuring yellow lines surrounded by brown outlined with white and white dots. Above them are brown, wavy lines with yellow dots outlined with white. The background is pigmented brown. On the reverse is handwritten text in black ink that reads "AF115", and a sticker that reads "An underground / tuber and its vines". At the top and the bottom of the bark are two sticks on the front and the back of the bark bound together with string through holes in the bark.

# data[].significanceStatement
The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Affairs Art collection comprises 2050 artworks and other objects.  The artworks - which numerically dominate the collection - were produced by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities throughout Australia. The accumulation of these artworks into a single collection has resulted from the choices and selections made during a 38 year period by a variety of staff working for the Council for Aboriginal Affairs (CAA), the Department of Aboriginal Affairs (DAA), the Aboriginal Development Commission (ADC) and the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission (ATSIC) at the national, regional and local levels.

The collection spans the years following the 1967 referendum, when dramatic changes in the governance of Aboriginal people took place, up to 2005 when the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission was dissolved. It provides a snapshot of the diversity and changes in Indigenous art and its representation which occurred during the period of its formation. The small number of 'non-art' objects in the collection is also significant in providing insights into the working of the various Commonwealth bodies involved in Indigenous affairs. As well as the significance of many of the individual pieces, the collection is also significant as a whole, as a complex artefact stemming from Australia's history of governance of Australian Indigenous peoples.

# data[].isAggregatedBy[].title
Show all objects included in the ATSIAA  collection

# data[]._meta.copyright
Copyright National Museum of Australia / CC BY-NC

# data[].title
Bark painting depicting a figure holding two turtles

# data[].collection.title
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Affairs Art (ATSIAA) collection no. 1

# data[].physicalDescription
A painting on bark featuring a figure holding two turtles. The figure is brown with white line markings and is positioned vertically in the centre of the painting. The turtles are black with white line markings. The background consists of a white, brown and black cross hatch design. A wooden stick is attacked to the top of the bark with string. On the reverse handwritten in black ink is the text "APRIL '82/wa.".

# data[].significanceStatement
The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Affairs Art collection comprises 2050 artworks and other objects.  The artworks - which numerically dominate the collection - were produced by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities throughout Australia. The accumulation of these artworks into a single collection has resulted from the choices and selections made during a 38 year period by a variety of staff working for the Council for Aboriginal Affairs (CAA), the Department of Aboriginal Affairs (DAA), the Aboriginal Development Commission (ADC) and the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission (ATSIC) at the national, regional and local levels.

The collection spans the years following the 1967 referendum, when dramatic changes in the governance of Aboriginal people took place, up to 2005 when the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission was dissolved. It provides a snapshot of the diversity and changes in Indigenous art and its representation which occurred during the period of its formation. The small number of 'non-art' objects in the collection is also significant in providing insights into the working of the various Commonwealth bodies involved in Indigenous affairs. As well as the significance of many of the individual pieces, the collection is also significant as a whole, as a complex artefact stemming from Australia's history of governance of Australian Indigenous peoples.

# data[].isAggregatedBy[].title
Show all objects included in the ATSIAA  collection

# data[]._meta.copyright
Copyright National Museum of Australia / CC BY-NC

# data[].title
Bark painting depicting two humans with arms outstretched

# data[].physicalDescription
Oval shaped bark painting with ochres. The painting depicts two humans with arms outstretched, in red and black with white outlines, and red ovals on the bodies and arms. The background is black and yellow in the centre, and red at either end.

# data[].spatial[].title
Port Keats (Wadeye), Northern Territory, Australia

# data[]._meta.copyright
Copyright National Museum of Australia / CC BY-NC

# data[].physicalDescription
Ochres on bark. Depicts a long-legged, long-necked and long-beaked bird, painted white, x-ray style with red organs. Body decorated with red lines and red and yellow crosshatching in areas. Outlined in red, red background.

# data[].spatial[].title
Minjilang, Croker Island, Northern Territory, Australia

# data[]._meta.copyright
Copyright National Museum of Australia / CC BY-NC

# data[].title
Bark painting representing Barangurbu, a small bird.

# data[].physicalDescription
Ochres on bark in a wooden box frame representing Barangurbu, a non-identified small bird. The image consists of a tall rectangle with two triangular spikes at the top rendered in yellow with white dots and with red and white outlines and yellow crosshatched rarrk patterning on the natural bark background.

# data[].spatial[].title
Minjilang, Croker Island, Northern Territory, Australia

# data[]._meta.copyright
Copyright National Museum of Australia / CC BY-NC

# data[].title
Small bundle of thin strands of bark held together with thinner strings of bark

# data[].physicalDescription
Small bundle of thin strands of bark held together with thinner strings of bark.

# data[].spatial[].title
Victoria River, Northern Territory, Australia

# data[]._meta.copyright
Copyright National Museum of Australia / CC BY-NC