IDNO

P.85690.ACH2

Description

On Catalogue Card for duplicate print P.275.ACH1: “Illegible. ? Natives preparing for a contest.”

Sixteen Aboriginal men engaged in various tasks in preparation for a serious battle. Five men sit around a fire in the foreground appearing to be sharpening and hardening their wooden weapons. The spears are put into bundles and the tips are covered with glass or flint quartz or flint splinters, and grease is smeared on to hand weapons. Three men on the left appear to be dancing, while three men on the right appear to be wrestling. Four men holding spears stand behind a fence? of upright wooden slats in the background. [JD 23/8/2007, updated WV 6/4/2009]

Place

Oceania Australasia; Australia; Victoria; Darling River; Murray River

Cultural Affliation

Named Person

Photographer

Muetzel, Gustav [Artist]

Collector / Expedition

von Blandowski, William [Blandowski Expedition to the Lower Murray River, 1857]

Date

1861; 1862

Collection Name

Haddon Collection

Source

?Haddon, Alfred Cort (Dr)

Format

Print Black & White

Primary Documentation

Other Information

P.85635. to P.85723. were tied together in a bundle.

Bibliographical Reference: Blandowski, William von, 1862. Australien in 142 Photographischen (Unpublished), with the caption “Aborigines of Australia, Plate 206. William v. Blandowski, Australia. ... [Illegible] ?Natives preparing for a contest”. The image is signed “G.M.61”. [JD 23/8/2007]

Bibliographical Reference: For discussion of authorship see: Allen, H. 2006. Authorship and ownership in Blandowski's Australien in 142 Photographischen Abbildungen. Australasian Historical Archaeology 24:31-37. [Jane Lydon, Monash University, 8/7/2009]

CUMAA Exhibition: P.84112.ACH2 to P.85713.ACH2 were on display in the SSL as part of the Brook Andrew ‘The Island’ Exhibition, 24th June - 27th September 2008. [JD 25/6/2008]

Publication: Blandowski, W. 1862. Australien in 142 Photographischen Ahbildungen. Gustav Neumann, Gleiwicz. Edited by Harry Alien. Translated from the German by Lillian Barton. Translation Copyright: Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies, 2007. with the caption:
“108. This is how the camp looks before a serious battle. The wooden weapons are hardened and sharpened, the spears are put into bundles and the tips are covered with glass, quartz or flint splinters, and grease is smeared on to hand weapons. They grease and paint their bodies and adorn their heads with clay and feathers. Lastly they practise and sing battle songs together. Drawing by G. Mützel.” [WV 6/4/2009]

This catalogue record has been updated with the support of the Getty Grant Program Two. [Jocelyne Dudding 23/8/2007]

This catalogue record has been updated with the support of the Aboriginal Visual Histories Project, Monash University. [Wonu Veys 6/4/2009]