25th Mar, 2018 18:00

Historic, Modern & Contemporary Art

 
Lot 98
 
Lot 98 - Gerard Bhengu (South African 1910-1990)

98

Gerard Bhengu (South African 1910-1990)
Inyanga in traditional dress; Inyanga with coat, two

watercolour on paper

Signature details: signed

Sold for R193,256
Estimated at R120,000 - R180,000


 

watercolour on paper

Signature details: signed

(2)

35 x 25.5 cm each

Johans Borman Fine Art, Cape Town.

Notes:

Wealth creation in South Africa at the time these portraits were done, was primarily from the mining industry, predominantly gold and diamonds. Labour and its cost to mining capital, was a large part of the cost structure of the industry. In 1913 the Native Trust and Land Act was passed into law by the South African parliament, which prohibited Natives from purchasing land outside of a tiny area. As the demand for cheap labour in the mining industry increased, the primary thrust of the legislation was to create a class of landless natives to feed this voracious demand. However, as long as black people still possessed a small portion of land, which meant they had no need to work as miners, the available labour pool was insufficient for the industry.To force them out of the land reserves additional legislative measures were required, which included the poll tax of one pound per head per annum. This forced more of them out of the reserves resulting in the further destruction of the euphemistically termed rural idyll where black people could still live an agrarian lifestyle. These two portraits of Inyangas are estimated to have been done between 1926 and 1931 and are very early examples of Bhengu’s mature style and therefore more likely the latter date, which was after the poll tax. This is further evidenced by the polarity of the sitters. The one Inyanga is characterised by a regal elegance and confidence of pose and is dressed in completely traditional regalia, whilst the other exhibits consternation and uncertainty and is dressed with an element of Western attire.Bhengu could hardly be described as an overtly political artist but in executing his form of social realism, the polarised characterisation of the two portrait subjects could be construed as articulating the influence of legislation and its accompanying taxation elements imposed by the government of the day, resulting in the further destruction of the rural way of life. The fact that the sitter with the Western attire exudes an uncertain consternation is more than likely not a coincidence. It confirms the fact that cultural production does not take place within a social, political and economic vacuum, even though the artist may not have executed these portraits with the intention of a direct socio-political commentary in mind.

Text Supplied

You can place an absentee bid through our website - please sign in to your account on our website to proceed.

In the My Account tab you can also enter telephone bids, or email bids@aspireart.net to log telephone/absentee bids.

Join us on the day of the auction to follow and bid in real-time.

The auction will be live-streamed with an audio-visual feed.

Auction: Historic, Modern & Contemporary Art, 25th Mar, 2018

Aspire Art Auctions brought a unique offering to their second auction in the Cape allowing buyers to add quality and rarity to their collections.

Headlining the success of the auction was as a rare intaglio by Alexis Preller, Gold Angel (Arêté), which sold for R4 638 400. The piece was part of Preller’s last body of work shown at the Goodman Gallery in 1975, and took its place alongside the sale of his mid-period work, the exquisite small study Still life with Vase and Carved Head, which sold for R811 720. Other auction highlights included work by contemporary artists Robert Hodgins, Athi-Patra Ruga, Zander Blom, and Penny Siopis and sculpture by Deborah Bell, Willem Boshoff, Wim Botha, and Amadlozi alumnus Sydney Kumalo.

Viewing

Friday 23 March 2018 | 10 am – 5 pm
Saturday 24 March 2018 | 10 am – 5 pm
Sunday 25 March 2018 | 10 am – 3 pm

View all lots in this sale

Images *

Drag and drop .jpg images here to upload, or click here to select images.


 

IMPORTANT NOTICE:


 

Logistics

While we endeavour to assist our Clients as much as possible, we require artwork(s) to be delivered and/or collected from our premises by the Client. In instances where a Client is unable to deliver or collect artwork(s), Aspire staff is available to assist in this process by outsourcing the services to one of our preferred Service Providers. The cost for this will be for the Client’s account, with an additional Handling Fee of 15% charged on top of the Service Provider’s invoice.

Aspire Art provides inter-company transfer services for its Clients between Johannesburg and Cape Town branches. These are based on the size of the artwork(s), and charged as follows:

Small (≤60x90x10 cm): R480

Medium (≤90x120x15 cm): R960

Large (≤120x150x20 cm): R1,440

Over-size: Special quote

 

Should artwork(s) be collected or delivered to/from Clients by Aspire Art directly, the following charges will apply:

Collection/delivery ≤20km: R400

Collection/delivery 20km>R800≤50km

Collection/delivery >50km: Special quote

 

Packaging

A flat fee of R100 will be added to the invoice for packaging of unframed works on paper.

 


International Collectors Shipping Package

For collectors based outside South Africa who purchase regularly from Aspire Art’s auctions in South Africa, it does not make sense to ship artworks individually or per auction and pay shipping every time you buy another work. Consequently, we have developed a special collectors’ shipping package to assist in reducing shipping costs and the constant demands of logistics arrangements.

For buyers from outside South Africa, we will keep the artworks you have purchased in storage during the year and then ship all the works you have acquired during the year together, so the shipping costs are reduced. At the end of the annual period, we will source various quotes to get you the best price, and ship all your artworks to your desired address at once.

Aspire Art will arrange suitable storage during, and cost-effective shipping at the end, of the annual period.

 


Collections

Collections are by appointment, with 24-hours’ notice

Clients are requested to contact the relevant office and inform Aspire Art of which artwork(s) they would like to collect, and allow a 24-hour window for Aspire Art’s logistics department to retrieve the artwork(s) and prepare them for collection.

 


Handling Fee

Aspire Art charges a 15% Handling Fee on all Logistics, Framing, Restoration and Conservation arranged by Aspire.