Indigenous Australians hunting in trees, c1817

Description

This is a watercolour, measuring 27.8 cm x 17.6 cm, created by Joseph Lycett in about 1817. It features an Indigenous Australian man about 5 metres up the trunk of a eucalypt tree, with his feet and one hand in notches on the trunk. He is holding a small axe in the other hand, ready to cut another notch. Below, a man holding a spear and spear thrower (woomera) points to something in the tree. Two people are sitting beside a fire near the trunk. In the distance are two trees, each with a man in one of the branches, while four others wait below. There are many birds in these trees, and several flying away from the trees.

Acknowledgements