Eesti kunsti oksjonid

Mezzotint on paper. 1988.
Signature: Linnutee. Sarjast “Taevas ja maa”. Metsotinto 41/50 / Kaljo Põllu, 1988

Coming up for auction for the first time in Estonian auction history, “Milky Way” is part of Kaljo Põllu’s (1934-2010) iconic “Kaliväe” series and speaks of ourselves – after all, Finno-Ugric peoples have been called the people of the Milky Way.

Our spirit bird was a duck, a coot or a goose, and the songs passed down from generation to generation also mention the bluebird, the midi bird and the wagtail. In folk tradition, the Milky Way galaxy is considered the bird’s path, along which migratory birds flew to escape the winter and return in the spring. The leader and protector of the birds was to be large, white and swan-like, whom all birds of prey feared. In the work, the mighty protector of the Field is wrapped in a hazy cloak of night light, his presence indicated only by the eggshell glowing in the moonlight.

By the way, in the Estonian folk calendar, the winter solstice was precisely when the Milky Way was directly overhead (due to the shift of the North Pole, it is currently at the end of January). The Milky Way, or “sky street,” was also used in the autumn to predict the weather of the coming winter: if it was very white, a snowy winter was to come; if it was black and patchy, a thawed winter. The field directs, teaches and reminds. Reminds us to respect the wisdom of our ancestors, to stop and look at the sky. To be grateful.

Text: Vappu Thurlow, Katre Palm