Sculpture by Aboriginal artist and painter Nancy Cowan.

The Bagu ceramics are sacred Aboriginal sculptures from the Girringun Art Centre in Queensland, Australia. Inspired by the ancient fire sticks used by nomadic peoples to keep the flame alive in the humid tropical regions, they pay homage to the fire spirit, Chikka-bunnah. Originally made of wood and reserved for men, these works are now crafted in clay, allowing women artists to engage with this tradition. First presented in 2009 at the Cairns Indigenous Art Fair, these anthropomorphic figures received critical acclaim, embodying the meeting of ancestral spirituality and contemporary creation.

Stéphane Jacob directs the gallery Arts d’Australie • Stéphane Jacob. Expert in Aboriginal Art (C.N.E.S.), co-author of the catalogue of Aboriginal paintings in the collections of the Musée des Confluences in Lyon and of the book La peinture aborigène published by Nouvelles Éditions Scala. This work comes with certificates of authenticity from the Girringun Aboriginal Art Centre (No. GAACNC1227) and from the gallery Arts d’Australie • Stéphane Jacob, expert in Aboriginal art.