The feature piece,a painting titledCorroboree (Women in possum skin cloaks)is expected to fetch close to $500,000,while a parrying shield containing rarely seen traditional designs has an estimated price of about $20,000.
Both were created by Barak,the Wurundjeri Woi Wurrung ngurungaeta – or headman – in the final years of the 19th century.
Wurundjeri traditional owner Uncle Colin Hunter,a descendent of Barak,urged philanthropic organisations and wealthy non-Indigenous supporters of Aboriginal rights to help return the pieces.
“Anybody who wants to do something about reciprocity:these are more than cultural artefacts. They are windows into our culture. This is Uncle William’s way of preserving our history. He’s seen the impacts of colonisation from day one,” Hunter said.
As a boy,Barak witnessed the arrival of European colonists on his Country in the 1830s and it’s said he was present when First Nations clan elders met John Batman’s party on the banks of Merri Creek.
As a clan leader in his later years,Barak produced about 50 culturally rich works,many of which were “gifted” to non-Indigenous colonisers before he died in 1903.