Lorrkon or Hollow Log bone pole

The Lorrkon formed the final stage of the funerary ceremony in a sequence of mortuary rituals celebrated by the people of Arnhem Land. After taking the bones of the deceased to a number of sites until the final ceremony where they are placeThis  into a hollow log .
The log is from the Stringybark tree (Eucalyptus tetragon) and has been hollowed to form this natural cavity, where it is then decorated with totemic emblems.

Lorrkon’s like this example also became important art objects produced for sale.  These poles have also been used as a symbol of Arnhem Land Aboriginal culture.  A group of 200 lorrkons form one of the National Gallery of Australia’s key installations

(Extract from NGA website )

“The Aboriginal Memorial is an installation of 200 hollow log coffins from Central Arnhem Land. It commemorates all the Indigenous people who, since 1788, have lost their lives defending their land. The artists who created this installation intended that it be located in a public place where it could be preserved for future generations.

This lorrkon was made by England Bangala

England Bangala (1925-2001) was a gifted artist who had a very unique style and ability to abstract his ancestral beliefs. Bangala was a fully initiated elder which entitled him to paint a number of the sacred stories from his Dreamtime. He was respected with in his community for his contribution and knowledge of traditional custom and ceremony.

Bangala has been represented in a number of international and national exhibitions including a number of solo shows.  His work is also held in a number of institutional and private collections including .

Collections 
Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney.
Art Gallery of South Australia, Adelaide.
Art Gallery of Western Australia, Perth.
Australian National University, Canberra.
Djomi Museum, Maningrida.
Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory, Darwin.
Museum of Contemporary Art, Sydney.
Museum of Victoria, Melbourne.
National Gallery of Australia, Canberra.
National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne.
The Holmes a Court Collection, Perth.

Exhibitions
1974 to 1976, Art of Aboriginal Australia, touring Canada, Rothmans of Pall Mall Canada Ltd.
1982, Aboriginal Art at the Top, Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory, Darwin.
1983, Artists of Arnhem Land, Canberra School of 1986, Painted Objects from Arnhem Land, University Drill Gallery (Pod), Canberra, ACT.
1987, The Fourth National Aboriginal Art Award Exhibition, Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory, Darwin
1987, Esplanade Gallery, Darwin.
1988, Bulawirri / Bugaja a special place, NGV, Melbourne
1988, Gochan Jiny-jirra artists, MOCA, Brisbane.
1989, A Myriad of Dreaming: Twentieth Century Aboriginal Art, Westpac Gallery, Melbourne; Design Warehouse Sydney [through Lauraine Diggins Fine Art]
1989, Aboriginal Art: The Continuing Tradition, National Gallery of Australia, Canberra
1990, Adelaide Biennial of Australian Art, Art Gallery of South Australia, Adelaide
1990, Balance 1990: views, visions, influences, travelling 1990, Spirit in Land, Bark Paintings from Arnhem Land, National Gallery of Victoria.
1990, Keepers of the Secrets, Aboriginal Art from Arnhemland, Art Gallery of Western Australia, Perth.
1992, The Ninth National Aboriginal Art Award Exhibition, Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory, Darwin.
1992/3, New Tracks Old Land: An Exhibition of Contemporary Prints from Aboriginal Australia, touring USA and Australia.
1993, Ten years of acquisitions,from ANU collection, Drill Hall Gallery ACT.
1993, Australian Heritage Commission National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art Award Exhibition, Old Parliament House,Canberra.
1993/4, ARATJARA, Art of the First Australians, Touring: Kunstammlung Nordrhein-Westfalen, Dusseldorf; Hayward Gallery, London; Louisiana Museum, Humlebaek, Denmark.
1994, Power of the Land, Masterpieces of Aboriginal Art, National Gallery of Victoria.
1994, Maningrida Collection, Museum of Contemporary Art, Sydney.

Biographies
Windows on the Dreaming, Caruana, W. (ed.), 1989, Ellsyd Press, Sydney.
Aboriginal Art, Caruana, W., 1993,Thames and Hudson, London.
A Myriad of Dreaming: Twentieth Century Aboriginal Art, exhib. cat., Diggins, L. (ed.), 1989, , Malakoff Fine Art Press, North Caulfield, Victoria.
Aratjara, Art of the First Australians: Traditional and Contemporary Works by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Artists, exhib. cat. 1993, conceived and designed by Bernard Luthi in collaboration with Gary Lee), Dumont, Buchverlag, Koln.
The Encyclopedia of Australian Art, McCulloch, A., & McCulloch, S., 1994,  Allen & Unwin Pty Ltd, St Leonards New South Wales.                                                                                                                                                                                  Keepers of the Secrets, Aboriginal Art from Arnhemland in the Collection of the Art Gallery of Western Australia, Art Gallery of Western Australia, Perth. O’Ferrall, M., 1990
Spirit in Land, exhib. cat.,Ryan, J., 1990, National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne.
Art of Aboriginal Australia, exhib. cat.,1974, Rothmans of Pall Mall Canada Limite