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A pair of carved mountain ash portraits of an Indigenous…
Sale Title:
Auction House:
Auction Location:
Melbourne
Date:
6-Mar-2023
Lot No.
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Description:
A pair of carved mountain ash portraits of an Indigenous Australian man and woman by Robert Prenzel, both signed and dated 1921, both bust-length, carved in very high relief, the bare-chested man in a laughing expression, the woman wearing a scarf and shawl and with a pipe from the side of her mouth, stained dark brown except her clothing, both with incised signature and date 'R. Prenzel 1920' lower right, the man, 45 cm high, 36.5 cm wide, 9 cm deep, the woman, 41 cm high, 37.5 cm wide, 9.5 cm deep. Provenance: acquired directly from Robert Prenzel in the 1920s by Gordon Gidney, Melbourne, Thence by descent to the late John Gidney Pennell. Other Notes: The origin, meaning, and variety of Prenzel's 1920s portraits of indigenous Australian men and women is discussed by Terence Lane in his Robert Prenzel, 1866-1941: His Life and Work (National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne, 1994), pp 37-40.
Estimate:
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Price:
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Category:
Unclassified