Ntariala arna urrknga (Ntaria clay)

$3,500.00

This is a local clay story. The first two men doing claywork in Ntaria were Nahasson Ungwanaka and Joseph Rontji. They made with local clay. They made little figures, like horses, camels, people, using clay from the creek. They were the first ones, the first potters. They were working with one white man, Victor Jaensch, at his house next to the historic precinct. That’s how Hermannsburg Potters started. Nahasson was Rahel Ungwanaka’s husband. Nahasson, Joseph and Dennis Ebatarinja, they were talking and they asked a potter, Naomi Sharpe, ‘Can you come and teach the ladies how to make pottery with clay’. That’s the story I’m painting on my pot. These three little birds on the side, I made them myself with local clay . I found that clay myself, down at the creek. There’s urrpara (magpie), titjarritjarra (willy wagtail) and nyingka (finch).