Together for Pangolins

Timed Online Auction, 24 July - 5 August 2024

Session One
About the Session

Pangolins have been on the planet for 80 million years. They survived a mass extinction, 66 million years ago, when an asteroid collided with Earth, wiping out 75% of earth’s animals, including non-bird dinosaurs. Now, a pangolin is poached every five minutes, making them the most poached mammal on earth, threatened with extinction at the hands of man, and the title of 'the most poached mammal on the planet'.

The curated collection of mainly pangolin-themed artworks and sculptures on this auction, aims to raise funding for the African Pangolin Working Group. Consisting of 19 pieces, these works are by upcoming and established artists and sculptors, who have aligned themselves with this important conservation cause.

There are eight species of pangolins, four in Asia and four in Africa. Currently, the Asian pangolins are listed on the IUCN Red List as Endangered and Critically Endangered – from the over harvesting and use of pangolin scales in Chinese Traditional Medicine. This has resulted in the rampant illegal trade of Africa’s pangolins, which are exported to Vietnam and China, where 60% of the population of China use traditional medicine, and pangolins are considered a powerful cure. Pangolin scales consist of keratin (like fingernails) and their curative powers have never been proved. Pangolins, considered the ‘wise old man’, and ‘the bringer of rain’, by African indigenous cultures, are benign creatures that have no teeth and don’t vocalise, preying on ants and termites – essential for the balance of ecosystems wherever they occur.

The African Pangolin Working Group was established in 2011, as one of the first three non-government organisations worldwide, that had a focus on pangolins exclusively. The African Pangolin Working Group strive towards the conservation and protection of all four African pangolin species by generating knowledge, developing partnerships and creating public awareness and education initiatives. The APWG has a footprint in both practical conservation projects, as well as strategic and landscape level conservation management strategies in South African, Southern Africa, and West Africa. Fundraising through partnerships with significant entities, like Strauss & Co, who have donated their platform for conducting this auction, is vital for the life-saving work of the African Pangolin Working Group and will contribute to significant steps towards saving pangolins now and into the future. Without fast and efficient action, pangolins could be extinct in the wild within 10 years.


  • Robert Rorich; Pangolin Boy
  • Robert Rorich; Pangolin Boy
  • Robert Rorich; Pangolin Boy
  • Robert Rorich; Pangolin Boy
  • Robert Rorich; Pangolin Boy
  • Robert Rorich; Pangolin Boy
  • Robert Rorich; Pangolin Boy
  • Robert Rorich; Pangolin Boy
  • Robert Rorich; Pangolin Boy


Lot Estimate
ZAR 70 000 - 90 000

About this Item

South Africa 20th/21st century
Pangolin Boy

signed and numbered 1/3 on the pangolin underside

bronze with a brown patina on a wooden base
height: 29cm excluding base, 31cm including base; width: 163cm; depth: 36cm

Notes

Robert (Robbie) Rorich hails from White River, Mpumalanga. He moved to Cape Town to attend UCT and continues to live there. Through art and extreme physical excursions, he pushes the boundaries of what it means to be free. This 28-year-old is a legend on the South African trail-running landscape, with wins that include the fastest time by a South African on the Otter Trail. This artist and outdoor enthusiast says that “being mindful” is the reason for his success. He shares the meaning of ‘transcendence’ – which is also the title of his work on the auction – confiding, that “through being present and allowing myself to open up to the subject of what I am sculpting, I feel that I am guided from start to end by a spiritual connection to my subject matter”. Robbie has already cycled the length of Africa once and is currently cycling up the West Coast from Cape Town to Morocco, with friends.

View all Robert Rorich lots for sale in this auction



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