Papers by patricia davison
This paper adds to the published record of nineteenth-century engraved horns depicting scenes of ... more This paper adds to the published record of nineteenth-century engraved horns depicting scenes of the Anglo-Zulu war, as seen by an unknown African artist. Two pairs of engraved horns in the early collections of the KwaZulu-Natal Museum, described by Tim Maggs in 1990, form the foundation for the present account of horns that have subsequently been located in museums and private collections in South Africa, England and America. Two individual engraved horns, purchased by Iziko Museums of South Africa in 2003 and 2005, are given particular attention. The aim is not only to describe these horns in relation to other known examples but to provide more information about their historical context, as well as an interpretive reading of these and the other horns that are believed to have been engraved by the same hand. Despite research to discover the name of the artist, he remains anonymous. None the less, the engraved scenes on these horns provide rare insight into African perceptions of military encounters and other aspects of late nineteenth-century colonial life in Natal. Visual representations of colonial life from an African perspective are very rare which gives the horns described in this paper particular significance. For almost a century, the five engraved cattle horns that formed part of the earliest collections of the Natal Museum (now renamed KwaZulu-Natal Museum) in Pietermaritzburg remained unpublished and relatively unknown but in 1990 this changed with the publication of an article by Tim Maggs (1990). He described two pairs of cattle horns engraved with military scenes (NM 176 & 176A), and a single horn (NM 177) that differed sufficiently from the others in style, visual content and placement of the motifs on the horn to suggest that it was engraved by a different artist (Maggs 1990: 145). At that time, no other engraved horns of similar type had been documented but within a few years it was found that there were comparable pairs of horns in the collections of the British Museum and the Smithsonian Institution, and later research uncovered a number of similar single engraved horns and, more rarely, pairs of horns in private collections and museums in South Africa, the USA, Canada and England. As the engraved images on more of these horns were examined and compared, it became clear that, with the exception of the single horn in the KwaZulu-Natal Museum, they had significant stylistic elements in common and seemed to have been engraved by the same hand. The pairs of horns described by Maggs in 1990, one pair of which is illustrated in Figure 1, provide a basis of comparison for those that were documented later. The known horns that seem to be engraved by the same artist are listed in the Appendix. A pair of engraved and painted horns in the Pitt-Rivers Museum in Oxford is of a different provenance, known to have been produced in about 1904 by an African living in the Bedford area of the Cape. 1 This paper builds on the foundation laid by Maggs and documents the engraved horns that have subsequently been located in other collections, describing, in particular, two engraved cattle horns in the art collections of Iziko Museums of
This chapter presents an interpretation of the terracotta heads known as the 'Lydenburg Heads' a... more This chapter presents an interpretation of the terracotta heads known as the 'Lydenburg Heads' after the site in southern Africa where they were found, and it also reviews the discourse surrounding the Heads.
This paper traces the shifting interpretations of rock art at the South African Museum over the p... more This paper traces the shifting interpretations of rock art at the South African Museum over the past century and suggests that early pejorative labels applied to San people accounts in part for the lack of recognition given to the complexity of their art until the latter part of the twentieth century,
Transformation in the heritage sector in South Africa is as much about interrogating past practic... more Transformation in the heritage sector in South Africa is as much about interrogating past practices, as it is about envisioning and shaping more equitable institutions of public culture. Understanding the history of museum collections and the ideas that gave rise to them is an essential foundation for building new collections, as well as for developing practices that re-interpret old collections to make them meaningful in the present. This is particularly so in the case of museums that were founded in the nineteenth century as colonial institutions and have their intellectual roots in the Enlightenment.1 The South African Museum (SAM), founded in the nineteenth century, followed the pattern established in the previous century by the British Museum in aspiring to cover all branches of knowledge in a systematic manner. The original mandate of the SAM was to build collections that covered the natural history and indigenous cultures of South Africa, but almost from the start the museum also included colonial and exotic collections. As the oldest and largest museum in the country, the SAM had national status long before the nationalist government came to power in 1948 but, like other state-funded museums, it grew as a national institution when South Africa was under white minority rule. These national museums were widely perceived as serving predominantly white interests, even if this was not the overt intention, and they are now challenged with changing perceptions and becoming relevant to a constituency comprising all South Africans. If museum collections are archives of memory, this memory is always selective and, by default, the gaps in collections also call attention to forgotten histories. Understanding the history of collections and the ways they have been shaped and classified is the first step in elucidating the role that museums have played in privileging and giving substance to prevailing views and ideologies over time.
An introductory reader, 2000
The Clay Sleeps: An Ethno-Archaeological Study of Three African Potters
Man, 1986
An academic directory and search engine.
Transcending prison as a metaphor of apartheid
Visual Anthropology, 1997
We examine film representations of prisons, with specific reference to the meaning of Robben Isla... more We examine film representations of prisons, with specific reference to the meaning of Robben Island in South African history. Topologically and symbolically, the Island represented the outer margin to which African resistance was banished. In liberation discourse, however, the Island was articulated into a symbol of defiance, a government‐in‐waiting, a temporarily inhabited territory. The central esthetic for black South African writing is the “tyranny of place”, as represented by the Island. Black writers must have place, as their expression depends on their commitment to territory.Two different conceptions of South African jails emerge from the intertext of pre‐1990 anti‐apartheid films and videos. One is of the totally brutalizing environment of police interrogation, as narrated in the reconstructed experiences of Steve Biko in Cry Freedom [1987]. These interrogations take place in police holding‐cells.The second conception of prisons is described in Robben Island. It was this location that permitted opportunities, intended or otherwise, for Mandela and his fellow inmates to continue their work ‘inside’. The difference is between arbitrary detention by Security Police, with no legal representation; and formal charges, often followed by imprisonment, but with legal representation (as heard about in Robben Island). This distinction is important when viewing Robben Island and other films which mention the role of prisons in enforcing apartheid.The paper examines the film, Robben Island, in terms of principles of visual anthropology, exploring not only the clandestine making of the film, but also the esthetic of the image and crew‐subject relations within the image. Music and audience reception are discussed briefly.
Madagascar: Island of the Ancestorsby J. Mack
The Social Use of Domestic Space in a Mpondo Homestead
Attention is drawn to the interrelated nature of material culture patterning and social relations... more Attention is drawn to the interrelated nature of material culture patterning and social relations. Field data from the Libode district of Pondoland, earlier ethnographic and historical sources, and aerial photographs are drawn on to describe the spatial ...
Ethnology, an Introduction to the Peoples and Cultures of Southern Africa
The South African Archaeological Bulletin, 1983
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Madagascar: Island of the Ancestors
The South African Archaeological Bulletin, 1987
John Madeley argues that: there are political factors at play. . . The government wants to make i... more John Madeley argues that: there are political factors at play. . . The government wants to make it harder for the guerilla movement, the Aromo (Oromo) liberation front, which is pressing for local autonomy, to have access to villages. This liberation movement seems to enjoy ...
The Social Use of Domestic Space in a Mpondo Homestead
The South African Archaeological Bulletin, 1988
Attention is drawn to the interrelated nature of material culture patterning and social relations... more Attention is drawn to the interrelated nature of material culture patterning and social relations. Field data from the Libode district of Pondoland, earlier ethnographic and historical sources, and aerial photographs are drawn on to describe the spatial ...
Public Archaeology, 2001
... This statutory move towards the transforma-tion of national museums in South Africa came Page... more ... This statutory move towards the transforma-tion of national museums in South Africa came Page 6. Published by Maney Publishing (c) WS Maney & Son Limited TYPECAST: REPRESENTATIONS OF THE BUSHMEN AT THE SOUTH AFRICAN MUSEUM ...
Different visions. A comparison of the central African collections of W. F. Burton and Irma stern
Soc Dynamics, 1993
... Kauenhoven Janzen, Reinhild 1983 African Art in Cape Town: Where is it, what is it? Irma Ster... more ... Kauenhoven Janzen, Reinhild 1983 African Art in Cape Town: Where is it, what is it? Irma Stern's African Art Collection in Context. South African National Gallery Quarterly Bulletin, No. ... London: British Museum. Schildkrout, Enid, and Curtis A. Keim 1990. African Reflections. ...
Textile History, 1980
... Author: Davison, Patricia; Harries, Patrick Title Article/Chapter: "Cotton weavi... more ... Author: Davison, Patricia; Harries, Patrick Title Article/Chapter: "Cotton weaving in South-east Africa: its history and technology" Title of Source: Textile history AATA Number: 18-367 Volume Number: 11 Date of Publication: 1980 Page Numbers: 175-192 Language Text: English ...
The Lydenburg Heads
African Arts, 1981
... Jackson 51 Photographs: Lisa Aronson 52 Photograph: Jerry Kobylacky 53, 56-57 Photographs: Ha... more ... Jackson 51 Photographs: Lisa Aronson 52 Photograph: Jerry Kobylacky 53, 56-57 Photographs: Hans Schaal 59 Photograph: Peabody Museum, Harvard 60-62 Photographs: Joe Henggeler 63 (top) Photograph: Reggie ... NAIFEH, Bibliography, from page 86 Akanji, Adebisi. ...
Cotton Weaving in South-East Africa: Its History and Technology
Textile History, 1980
... Author: Davison, Patricia; Harries, Patrick Title Article/Chapter: "Cotton weavi... more ... Author: Davison, Patricia; Harries, Patrick Title Article/Chapter: "Cotton weaving in South-east Africa: its history and technology" Title of Source: Textile history AATA Number: 18-367 Volume Number: 11 Date of Publication: 1980 Page Numbers: 175-192 Language Text: English ...
Conserving Ndebele Beadwork
Curator: The Museum Journal, 2000
... JUNE HOSFORD AND PATRICIA DAVISON DEPARTMENT OF ETHNOGRAPHY ... To prevent more beads from sl... more ... JUNE HOSFORD AND PATRICIA DAVISON DEPARTMENT OF ETHNOGRAPHY ... To prevent more beads from slipping off loose strings in the lazywork, a reversible PVA emulsion-adhesive, diluted 25:7 5 with Figure 8. Apron, SAM-11455, before repair. 90 Page 7. 31/2 1988 ...
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Papers by patricia davison