New acquisition for museum
The sculpture is of outstanding quality, despite being extremely fragile.
THE Vukani Museum has received a rare 1965 Hezekiel Ntuli head, reputed to be the largest he ever made.
The new acquisition was generously donated by Rose Scheffer, wife of the late Lewis Scheffer, who was Town Clerk of eShowe for over 20 years.
The sculpture is outstanding quality, despite being extremely fragile and tending to fall apart as Ntuli’s sculptures are solid unfired clay.
‘For this one to survive so long and in such perfect condition is a tribute to the care the Scheffers took of it,’ said curator Vivienne Garside.
‘They were known for their love of Zulu craft and Lewis was a driving force behind the establishment of the Zululand Historical Museum.
‘This is an outstanding example of Hezekiel Ntuli’s work and we are very grateful to have been entrusted with the care of it.’
Because of its vulnerability to humidity in particular, the head is being kept in a hygroscopically controlled display cabinet and will later be joined by another Ntuli head which was made before the Second World War.
The second head will be on loan from the Natal Arts Trust.
