Image Not Available

Black cardboard box, used to store emu egg 00046832

Maker Lin Bolton

Date1960-1990s

Object number00046830

NameBox

MediumCardboard, satin

DimensionsOverall: 103 x 108 x 148 mm, 170.25 g

ClassificationsTools and equipment

Credit LineANMM Collection

Terms

DescriptionThis carved emu egg with a fish design was made by Lin Bolton, an Indigenous artist from Western Australia. Emu egg carving was a popular artform in the mid to late nineteenth century and was carried out by both European and Indigenous artists in Australia. The craft declined in the twentieth century but has continued in a number of Aboriginal communities in Western Australia, northern NSW and other parts of south-east Australia. Painted canoe model with fish designs made by an unknown Indigenous modelmaker and artist from Yirrikala in the Northern Territory. It is believed to date from the 1960s and was given to a doctor who worked at Yirrikala. HistoryThe emu is only found in Australia and Aboriginal people have used emu eggs as a food source and also as water carriers. Emu egg carving became popular in the mid to late nineteenth century in Australia. Both Aboriginal and European artists practiced the craft. Some silversmiths designed elaborate decorative supports in which to hold the eggs. The art of engraving patterns and pictures involves scratching away the outer layer (having first blown out the contents of the egg). The emu egg shell has a dark green outer layer which, when incised, reveals the pale near white layer below. Carving an emu egg requires great skill and many hours of concentration, one slip of the instrument could destroy the fragile shell. During the twentieth century Aboriginal people of south-east Australia and parts of Western Australia kept the practice alive. Carving continues today with dozens of different artists depicting important animals, people, landscapes and scenes from the past and present. The carved eggs produced are sold in souvenir stores and also in specialist art galleries. The canoe has been a key mode of transport used by the community living at Yirrikala on the Gove peninula in the Northern Territory. Model canoes have been made by local artists and given as gifts for visitors to the community since the mid twentieth century. Local children often make and play with toy canoes. SignificanceThis emu egg is representative of souvenirs produced by Indigenous artists in coastal and inland river communities. The designs on the egg are typical of objects produced specifically for the tourist market in Australia.

This model canoe represents the means of transport used by the community living at Yirrikala on the coast of the Northern Territory. Models have been made as gifts, ornaments or toys by local craftspeople.