Lot 3147

Sotheby's, Melbourne, 24 July 2007, lot 2
Private collection, Melbourne
Leski Auctions, Melbourne, 2 December 2008, lot 98
Private collection, Melbourne
Deutscher and Hackett, Melbourne, 24 March 2010, lot 149
Private collection, Melbourne

These bellows were acquired by a collector of Australiana from an antique shop in central Victoria. They are decorated with engraved desgins that can be attributed to Tommy McRae. The artist has engraved two ceremonial figures with body paint and carrying weapons, dancing on either side of a tree above which are three depictions of a larvae-like insect and a snake-like animal surrounded by circular and track-like motifs. It is likely that this work was created in the last decade of the 19th century.