South African Design: Past & Present

Timed Online Auction, 13 June - 9 July 2025

Interior Elements: Wood, Metal, Fibre, Ceramic & Glass Art
About the Session

This sale traces the heritage of South African design across centuries of creative expression highlighting diverse design objects through two sessions. Uniting the sessions is a celebration of the versatility of materials - metal, wood, glass, clay, fibre - and how artists and artisans have transformed them over time into works of wonder, rich in both tradition and innovation.


  • Carey Willis; Embroidered cloth with birds and leopard


Lot Estimate
ZAR 8 000 - 10 000

About this Item

East London, South Africa 1990's
Embroidered cloth with birds and leopard
beads on fabric
88cm high, 92cm wide

Notes

This heavily embroidered cloth was produced by a male Xhosa artist, Carey Williams, from East London in the early 1990's.

In Africa, beads have played a significant role in numerous cultures where they serve as indicators of age, power, status, identity and kinship.

View all Carey Willis lots for sale in this auction