Mukarrthippi

$950 incl GST

An intriguing coil pot, hand built in white raku clay, stained with oxides and decorated glazes, raffia grass, a leather cord and a band of mosaics.

This vessel is not glazed on inside and measures 150 x 240mm w x h.

Two little Mukarthippi grasswren hide amongst the spinifex and debate their demise. The Mukarthippi grasswren (pronounced mook-wah-tippy and meaning ‘small bird of the spinifex’ in the local Ngiyampaa language) was only officially identified in 2020 as a distinct subspecies of the more widespread striated grasswren (itself a threatened bird).

Now Critically Endangered since July 2023, the Mukarthippi grasswren inhabits an isolated inland region of New South Wales. According to the NSW Threatened Species Scientific Committee (2021), the total population is very likely to be less than 50 mature individuals, with a continuing decline caused by ongoing threats from wildfire, habitat deterioration and fragmentation of the small populations.