Siphiwe MaS'Khakhane Nala

Provenance

The Late Estate of Jalmar and Ione Rudner, Cape Town.

Notes

Collected in 1980. While we cannot state with complete certainty that the maker was Siphiwe Nala, we strongly believe the work is hers. Although African traditional artists did not sign their work, each maker developed a distinct style that is recognisable across a body of work. Signatures are a Western convention, and it was with the rise of commercial markets beyond the local community that signatures began to appear. Objects such as vessels, spoons, and headrests were made for communal use. Their makers were known, but more importantly, these objects were understood as emerging from the community rather than from an isolated individual. Craft was embedded within a shared social and cultural context.

When Nesta Nala, daughter of Siphiwe Nala, began signing her pots at the urging of a Durban gallery owner, she faced criticism from her community. The concern was that this practice reflected a Western, individual-centric worldview. From the community’s perspective, creative work arises from interdependence, lineage, and shared knowledge.

- Michael Heuermann