Lot 77
COOLAMON
WESTERN AUSTRALIA
Auction: 26 November 2025 at 14:00 GMT
Description
carved wood and natural earth pigments, of elongated concave form, the interior with stone cut engraving, rich patination
Dimensions
40.8cm long
Provenance
Marc Pinto, Perth
Francois Coppens, Belgium
Footnote
“Widely used throughout central Australia, carrying trays, often referred to by the general term coolamon, are versatile all-purpose containers. Typically consisting of shallow, trough-shaped vessels (of which the decorated underside is shown in the photograph), coolamons are, or were, used by Aboriginal peoples to carry food, water, and even young infants when gathering food or moving from camp to camp. Masterpieces of practical design, the curved bottoms of coolamons allow the vessels to sit upright on uneven ground and help prevent them from being overturned.”
The Metropolitan Museum, 2025