Notes

The Evangelical Lutheran Church (ELC) Art and Craft Centre at Rorke’s Drift was established by Swedish missionaries in 1962, and was to become one of the most important and influential training centres for Black artists in South Africa. One of the four workshops at the Centre was the weaving studio. The Swedish technical expertise and design aesthetic, coupled with traditional African crafting skills, resulted in the production of woven items that became world-renowned. Life of Shaka was produced in 1974 by Mary Shabalala and the younger Josephine Memela, who took four and a half months to weave this exceptional tapestry, under the supervision and guidance of master weaver Allina Ndebele who ran the weaving studio at the Centre. The tapestry imagery is based on a small black and white linocut print made by Caiphas Nxumalo who was a former student at the ELC Art and Craft Centre. A copy of the linocut was divided into blocks which enabled the weavers to retain the proportions of the image. The size of the tapestry is remarkable, with a length in excess of four and a half meters, it can be compared to a similar tapestry which was commissioned for the Council Chamber of the Royal Society in London created in a vibrant and skilfully combined gradation of warm and earthy hues, was woven from karakul wool dyed with synthetic pigments. These dyes were used to ensure that the tapestry remained colour-fast in perpetuity. A large Swedish floor loom was used and the completed work was rolled up as the image was woven, leaving only half a meter of the woven piece visible to the weavers. This meant that the first time the entire tapestry was seen, was only once it had been completed and unrolled. As each person’s weaving tension varied, the two weavers would occasionally exchange sides to ensure that the tension remained even and the tapestry remained flat.

A similar example from the University of Pretoria collection – Umbuso omusha KwaZulu (1971) – linocut by Caiphas Nxumalo. In the tradition of Zulu oral history, the tapestry imagery depicts various aspects of the life of Shaka kaSenzangakhona, King of the Zulu kingdom, from his birth in 1787 to his death in 1828. Shaka Zulu was known as a cruel and fearsome warrior. He divided his impis into formidable regiments and introduced the ixwa, a short stabbing spear which proved highly effective in battle and overcoming all rival clans. Central to the narrative is a figure portraying a brave and intrepid Shaka armed with a spear and shield, running ahead of his warriors, whilst the enemy scatter. Shaka’s power and wealth is signified by cattle in various sections of the tapestry and his military prowess by numerous energetic warriors throughout the panel. In the lower left corner of the tapestry he appears to be killing a lion that has attacked his cattle, and the purple area in the mid-upper portion shows Shaka as a young boy, saving his sister from a hyena. Shaka’s assassination by his two half-brothers Dingane and Mhlangana is recorded in the lower right corner.

The present lot, historically significant and undoubtedly of museum standard, has recently been returned to the country from Sweden, where it has been part of the private collection of Lillemor and Uno Johansson for the past fifty years. The Johanssons worked at the ELC Art and Craft Centre between 1972 and 1976. The tapestry was exhibited at The Brooklyn Museum and The Brooklyn Library in New York in 1976, together with 90 graphics and linocuts from nine artists at Rorke´s Drift. The return of this masterpiece to its country of origin is significant and provides a rare opportunity for local collectors of artworks from the ELC Centre at Rorke’s Drift.