Provenance

A gift from the artist, and thence by descent.

Notes

Along with portraying every day rural life, with scenes of labour and family, Pemba is known for capturing traditional South African ceremonies, clothing and beadwork. Through these paintings, Pemba was able to exemplify his pride in his Xhosa heritage, drawing attention to the importance of cultural identity. In this sense, the present lot highlights both the individual as well as his community, the connection and sense of belonging to place, tradition, and culture. Painted in 1947, the present lot was created in the year before Pemba would have his first solo exhibition at the Old Mutual Arcade in Port Elizabeth.

The subject is a solitary figure captured in three quarter view, seated off centre and looking into the distance. In one hand he is holding an inqawe (traditional Xhosa smoking pipe) or an uzalipholile (meaning, ‘it arrives cooled’, in reference to the cooling effect of the pipe’s long stem) and in the other hand he grips his induku (used in herding livestock). Using this compositional device enabled Pemba to capture more detail in the elaborate beadwork and bracelets worn by the figure, giving almost equal weight of focus to the individual and the sartorial elements, while still extending the narrative through clues in the landscape nodding to home and vocation. The care and detail worked into the background hints at the importance the artist placed on the location and landscape, depicting the physical beauty he saw in his country.