Lot 79
STONE CHURINGA
CENTRAL AUSTRALIA
Auction: 26 November 2025 at 14:00 GMT
Description
stone, worked incisions with three concentric circle details on each side of the flat, oval surface; raised on a bespoke mount
Dimensions
16cm tall
Provenance
Francois Coppens, Belgium, acquired 2010s
Footnote
The word ‘Tjurunga’ derives from the Arrernte word Tywerenge, which means ‘sacred’ or ‘precious’. They were the ancestors' most treasured possessions, with myths emphasising their magical properties. Each person was believed to have been a reincarnated ‘ancestral’ spirit being, their essential sacred essence expressed in the physical tjurunga form. During initiation, a youth received his own tjurunga and was gradually introduced by tribal elders to the secret knowledge concerning their own and other tjurunga, the ritual practices and belief systems passed down from one generation to the next. The intricate designs, engraved using possum teeth, recorded legends, with the various symbols serving to remind the reciter of the narrative. The markers have hundreds of different meanings, with the number of conventionalised symbols making up a very small proportion. The sacred nature of the tjurnuga meant that they could only be seen by initiated men during times of ceremony, with women and children strictly banned from laying eyes on them. Although tjurunga exist across Australia, the finest decorated stone examples come from Central Australia.