The Brenthurst Collection of
The Brenthurst Collection of Southern African Art was collected by Jonathan Lowen, a South African-born lawyer living in London. Lowen believed that traditional Southern African arts were not as well appreciated as those from western and central Africa. Fascinated by the skill of the makers, he collected items from various sources, including dealers and flea markets.
The collection was later purchased by Harry Oppenheimer and repatriated to South Africa in the mid-1980s and lent to Johannesburg Art Gallery (JAG), where it formed part of a major exhibition titled Art and Ambiguity: Perspectives on the Brenthurst Collection of Southern African Art in 1991. At the time, material of this nature was poorly represented in South African museums and institutions. The collection was housed at JAG before being rehoused at The Brenthurst Library in 2023.
The range of the Brenthurst Collection is diverse and broad in material, time period, geographical region, style and intended use, revealing the knowledge and skills of the makers and the contexts in which the objects were utilised. Much of the collection originates from Northern and Southern Nguni cultures. Many objects originated in the area formerly known as the Transvaal.
Very little of each object’s provenance is known, such as the names of makers, when and where objects were created and their original collectors. Lowen notes that most objects were likely made in the 19th century. Many objects have been associated with a particular ethnic group due to the characteristics of their style, material, or technique of making. Some of this attribution information may, however, be incorrect. In-depth research on the collection and on individual objects continues to uncover more information about the objects’ origins, the potential makers, and their histories.
Read more about Jonathan Lowen