FAQs

‘Mbantua’ is the phonetic spelling of the Arrernte word Mparntwe or Mparnte. It means ‘this place’ in the Arrernte (Aranda) language but is generally known as Alice Springs. Alice Springs lies on Arrernte land.

All products that you see on our site are available for purchase. Simply click on any artwork you like which will bring up the details of that painting including the title and description. Choose whether you would like it ‘stretched’ onto a frame and click ‘Add to Cart’. You may then continue shopping or choose to check out. Click on ‘View your Cart’ in the top right of the site to see the contents of your cart. Use ‘Check Out’ and follow the instructions. You will then need to put in your destination address for you cart total to be calculated. On doing this you will be taken to a ‘login’ page for you to create an account and password . With future transactions from our website you will be able to ‘login’ as a returning customer. Make sure all your details are correct and choose your method of payment. Click ‘Buy Now’ and congratulations! You have purchased a wonderful work of Aboriginal art.

No.  If you see an item that you like on our website you can contact us by phone or email to purchase offline.  Please refer to the item’s product code when speaking with our staff.

We accept most forms of payment however we do not accept traveler’s cheques. The most common form of payment is by credit card and we accept Visa, Mastercard, American Express and Diners Club. We also accept direct deposit payments and payments made through Paypal.  If you would prefer to pay by personal cheque or another method, please contact us by email or phone before putting your order through.  Please see Payment Types for more information.

You can rest assured that our website is very safe to order from. All orders and information has been encrypted for your safety. Your credit card details are not stored by Mbantua Gallery and all payments on our website are processed through the SecurePay gateway.

Yes.  All prices are in AUD and include GST.  The GST will be removed on purchases made internationally.

All prices shown on our website are in Australian dollars (AUD) and include GST.  If you are an international customer the GST will be removed before payment is required

We strive to have your order processed within 2 business days of payment.

Yes.  We ship to all countries throughout the world.

The receiver of a purchase is responsible for any duties or taxes required by countries outside of Australia.  We are unable to provide an estimate of what these charges might be so you may wish to contact the local customs office in the recipient country for further information.  Please contact us if there are any special requirements to assist customs clearance.

All orders are insured by Mbantua Gallery until you have received it. We like to make things as easy as we can for you. If you have any questions or concerns regarding this please don’t hesitate to contact us.

All Aboriginal artworks purchased from our website include freight and insurance and can be posted to anywhere in the world. You will receive them neatly rolled inside a postal cylinder.

Alternatively, if you have chosen the ‘stretched’ option for your painting, freight will be included for Australian addresses only. Sending a painting on a stretcher frame to overseas destinations will incur a freight charge calculated on checkout after the destination has been chosen.

Yes.  We will post your artwork to the address supplied in the ‘shipping address’ section of the secure order form.  Please note that if it is being sent to an international address import duties may apply.  Please contact the local customs office in the recipient country for further information.

This type of frame is made using 4 strips of a light-weight wood, mostly an Australian Pine. The frame is made to the dimensions of your painting. When painting a canvas our artists will leave 5-6 cms around the edges of the canvas so that the painting can be successfully stretched and the finished artwork will be the same dimensions as stated on our website.  Link to wiki on stretching

No, all of our paintings are freighted un-stretched and will be sent rolled and carefully packaged in a mailing cylinder.  However, we do offer a ‘stretched’ option on our website which will incur an extra cost.  Please see here for more information.

Buying a piece of artwork is a very personal matter.  It is important to us that any artwork that you buy is something you will enjoy.  Though we take every step to ensure our artwork images have the exact likeness to the paintings, we understand it is not always the case and images are not the same as viewing the artwork in person.

Our guarantee is that we will fully refund the cost of the artwork if you decide not to keep it within 10 days of receiving it.  Please return it to us within the 10 day period and upon receipt of the artwork we will issue you the refund. It will be necessary for you to pay the return freight only.

We expect the artwork to be returned in its original condition and with its original accompanying documentation before refunding the purchase price. It is advisable to insure the artwork to its purchase amount as it remains the property of the buyer until received safely by Mbantua Gallery.

We send all of our Aboriginal artworks by private courier and this should take 3-5 business days to most street addresses within Australia. If the artwork is going to a Post Office Box number then it will be sent via Australia Post. This generally takes between 4-6 business days.

All international orders will be sent by Airmail and should arrive anywhere from 10-14 business days.  This may take as long as 6 weeks depending on customs delays in the receiving countries.

There may be unforeseen circumstances at the destination or within the freight company that we have no control over.  If you have any questions or concerns, please don’t hesitate to contact us.

All images you see on this website have been taken by Mbantua Aboriginal Art Gallery with the artist and staff permission. Copyright for the artworks shown on this website belong to the artists under the Australian Copyright Act. They may be viewed and downloaded only for the purpose of buyer browsing. No reproduction of any image shown on this site may be made for any reason whatsoever without the artist's permission.

Copyright for all images not of artwork on this website belongs to Mbantua Aboriginal Art Gallery. They may not be reproduced or downloaded by anyone other than Mbantua Aboriginal Art Gallery for any reason whatsoever without first gaining the permission of Mbantua Aboriginal Art Gallery.

All information on this website has been written as an entire body by the Field and Research Department of Mbantua Aboriginal Art Gallery.  It has come from years of knowledge, experience and passion. The information may be used as long as reference is made to Mbantua Aboriginal Art Gallery.  No part of this text however may be copied and used without the permission of Mbantua Aboriginal Art Gallery.

No.

‘The place of origin or earliest known history of something’ – Wikipedia

The provenance of works of fine art is very important. A good provenance will increase the value of a painting and will help to confirm details of the painting including the date painted and the identity and details of the artist. A documented history can help to prove ownership if this is ever in dispute.

The majority of paintings on our website come with a fully documented Certificate of Authenticity which includes a portrait of the artist, artist biography and a description of the story behind the painting. For more information please see here….

We do not have a Gift Registry online.  However if you contact us we will be happy to set one up for you.

The relationship between Mbantua and the artists that paint for us is a co-operative one.  We don’t set up exclusivity contracts with them; if another gallery is paying higher prices than we are, they are allowed to sell to them instead of to us.

If an artist wants to paint for us, we provide the materials the artists will require; canvas or linen, paints, brushes.  When they have finished their painting, we pay them the agreed price and then set about marketing their work.

Mbantua had its own Resale Royalty scheme operating for many years paying the artist a royalty on the sale of all catalogued works but this was discontinued when the Australian government introduced their Resale Royalty scheme whereby 5% is paid to the artist on the sale of any artwork sold for more than $1,000.

Mbantua has agreements with several artists to use images of their artworks on our Utopia Giftware* range of products.  A 1% of retail royalty is paid to the artists and a further matching 1% is donated to the Mbantua Foundation, set up to improve the lives of Indigenous people in Central Australia.

Mbantua Gallery provides our artists with high quality Belgian Linen or Cotton Duck canvas on which to paint and they use Matisse acrylic paints.

No we do not do artwork valuations.

Whilst we take every measure to put an accurate copy of an artwork on our website, small variances in colour is unavoidable.  If you would like a higher resolution photo to view, please contact us via email or phone and we will be happy to send this to you.