Bonhams 1793 : Cecil Edwin Frans Skotnes (South African, 1926-2009) Icon for Makana, on the island in original artist's frame

PROVENANCE:
Goodman Gallery, Johannesburg, 1997
A private collection, The Netherlands

Makanda Nxele, known as "Makana", was a Xhosa prophet and warrior who led an attack against the British at Grahamstown in 1819. He was imprisoned on Robben Island, where he later drowned during an escape attempt. However, his dedication to uniting the Xhosa in the struggle against the British Empire earned him great acclaim and mythic status in subsequent generations, leading to calls by political prisoners in the twentieth century to rename Robben Island "Makana".

Skotnes undertook a series of carved panels which together form a visual tribute to the historic leader; Icon for Makana, on the island is a key episode, representing the great warrior's internment on the island. In common with other series (such as his Shaka series) which focus on a single historical or mythic figure, Freida Harmsen asserts that while they may be based on a narrative, "Skotnes does not merely illustrate the text that inspired him; he recreates it" through a combination of "aesthetically principled formalism" and a "psychological, metaphysical, or spiritual message". The polished brass framing of the work similar to the treatment of many of his other "icons" provides both an unusual finish, and an additional sense of reverence, to the subject.

LITERATURE:
F. Harmsen, Cecil Skotnes (Cape Town, 1996), p.32