Hezekiel Ntuli (1912-1973) Retrospective
Gallery 2-4, Old Arts Building
August 2025 to November 2026

This first retrospective exhibition of Hezekiel Ntuli (1912-1973) by the University of Pretoria makes this a new and exciting exhibition. Following a significant donation in 2024, this added substantially to the institutional collection when they first acquired works by Ntuli as early as 1933 and more acquisitions were made in 2022. The exhibition will draw on over 30 of Ntuli’s works, primarily sculptural busts of Zulu Nduna, animal figures and his iconic leopards. The exhibition will add to the university canon of South African art and highlight Ntuli as a lesser-known artist marginalised for decades. Hezekiel Ntuli was born in 1912 near Eshowe, in the district of Ntueni in Kwa-Zulu Natal. He began clay modelling of cattle at the young age of four. Ntuli reached fame at age 19 in 1931 when he was featured as a talented sculptor in the magazine Die Huisgenoot. Ntuli was influenced by his brother Jubulani Ntuli and other artists on the fringes, such as Samuel Makoanyane, Themba Mholongo, Frikkie Kruger, N Young, Padie Ntuli and Pierre van Reyneveld.

Unclaying: South African Ceramics
Gallery 2-12, Old Arts Building
7 April 2025 to December 2026

Ceramics have become both utilitarian and ornamental items in many South African households. Items such as grandmothers’ tea sets and collectable porcelain are often kept in cabinets and only brought out on special occasions. However, ceramic art continues to be appreciated, spanning from factory and studio ceramics to the iconic pottery of the Venda, Zulu, and Sotho cultures, which contribute to the South African art canon of traditional ceramics. Ceramics are recognised not only for their utility but also for their beauty and design. The medium of clay is versatile, and ‘unclaying’ allows us to deconstruct ceramics from a singular artistic perspective. It embodies the storytelling, histories, and cultural and social expressions found in ceramics. This exhibition of ‘unclaying’ presents an unbiased collection of ceramics drawn from museum storage. This collection includes some contemporary pieces that have never been seen before, alongside familiar favourites such as those from Ardmore, Kalahari Studios, Henriette Ngako, Nic Sitole, and many others.

Bokgabo ba Mašela: Art of Textiles
Bridge Gallery, Javett-UP
7 March 2025 to 18 October 2025

The art of material and weaving is showcased to celebrate the sophistication of textiles, where both simplicity and complexity highlight the beautiful and intricately woven world, which reveals the ability of textiles to tell long-forgotten stories. Drawing from the University of Pretoria permanent collection, the exhibition focuses on the art of textiles and asks questions about its place within the canon of art history and, more importantly, how we can understand contemporary textile art practice in an ever-shrinking world. Signature textile works such as Keiskammahoek Guernica, Haute Couture pieces from Marianne Fassler (Leopard Frock), Mogalakwena Art Centre Women, textiles from the Congo and other parts of the world that interact to create a cacophony of women voices long unheard. Mainly featured in the exhibitions are UP’s textiles of works by Allina Ndebele, Karel Nel, Amita Mikan, Andre Naude and the impressive Kaross™ UP centenary tapestry.

National Treasures: Mapungubwe Gold Collection
Javett Arts Centre,
24 September 2019 to 24 September 2025

Gold in Africa has been prominent in human history and thought for over 6000 years. Considered by some to be earth’s rarest and most valued metal, it has gained a peculiar, and indeed, an inimitable place in human history. From time immemorial, the colour of gold and its enduring qualities as a precious metal has appealed to human nature throughout the past and the present. There is much more to gold than simply colour and lustre since it remains what it has always been: a precious substance because it is rare. Although surprisingly found in large quantities, as a unique metal gold has always been avidly sought, skilfully worked and jealously guarded.

Gold has endured as a soft, malleable, ductile metal that can be easily worked, embossed, engraved, and formed into decorative shapes and ornamentation, almost resistant to tarnish and decay. In the process of manufacture, gold solidifies and becomes cold, yet the smooth liquidity of the surface, and the natural

beauty of its buttery-yellow colour and high gloss are further enhanced by light. The innate sensuality of gold lends itself ideally to the sculpturing of gold forms, jewellery and other shapes designed to extract maximum light reflection from the gold surface. Due to the combination of its natural lustre, smoothness of texture and the signature of indigenous craftsmanship, gold is most often always seen as a rare treasure. The history of Africa glistens with gold as it has symbolised the wealth of the continent in which southern Africa

Archaeologically, the lure of gold has been closely linked with the economics of power, beyond jewellery for decoration and adornment, it has strongly symbolised high social status as well as political wealth and power. Between CE 1220 and CE 1290 gold was produced as personal symbols of power and prestige. Jewellery such as gold beads, probably formed into necklaces, bracelets and anklets were fashioned for personal adornment. Ceremonial and ritual objects made from thin gold foil were formed into animal figurines such as the rhino and gold foil shaped into a gold bowl, sceptre and other decorative or ornamental forms.

Mapungubwe gold was sanctioned, reserved and ruled over exclusively by the elite of society whose social and political status was expressed in daily life as it was in death. Gold adorned three royal burials on the summit of Mapungubwe Hill where they lay forgotten for centuries. Eventually, archaeological enquiry in the 1930s brought to light the Mapungubwe Gold Collection, as well as the associated assemblages of artefacts attributed to the Iron Age such as trade glass beads, shells, ceramics, clay figurines, iron and copper implements and many other archaeological finds.

National Treasures exhibits the Mapungubwe Gold Collection comprising 117 gold bracelets and 139 beaded gold necklaces that are made up of over 12 000 gold beads. In addition, the collection includes 133 gold coiled anklets, hundreds of gold bangles and more than forty gold foil forms of which the most recognisable are the animal figurines of a gold rhino, a gold leopard and a gold cattle figurine as well as some decorative gold foil forms and remains of gold foil fragments.

The Mapungubwe gold collection provides a glimpse into the wealth, diversity and beauty of some of the items in the gold collection, a large portion of which is on this exhibition at the Javett Art Centre at the University of Pretoria and some at the Mapungubwe Interpretative Centre, Mapungubwe National Park World Heritage Site in Limpopo. Even more so, it is undeniably a great privilege to curate one of South Africa’s only archaeological gold collections that are regarded as not only a national treasure and a national symbol but also have an ever-expanding global interest. Its very existence in the 21st century serves as a constant reminder of its rarity as a finite heritage record and assurance that the University of Pretoria will continue its stewardship of the Mapungubwe Collection on behalf of the State with great responsibility and international pride.

The Mapungubwe Ceramic Collection
Mapungubwe Gallery, Old Arts Building
October 2021 to December 2024

This dedicated gallery forms a vital part of our national heritage and provides a unique addition to the permanent display of the Mapungubwe ceramic collection. The exhibition provides insight into archaeological ceramic making revealing the depth and breadth of artistic prowess that has been refined over centuries. It also permits us to be inspired anew by the dedication of the artisans in a relentless pursuit for excellence and the need for spiritual and practical solutions to social orientation. More importantly, it fills the dearth of knowledge around indigenous knowledge and cultural systems and makes a contribution to the art of ceramic making. In the current environment and narrative pertaining to Africanisation and decolonisation.

Individually the four basic universal elements are: earth, water, air and fire, and inherently have their own distinct and visceral characteristics. However, when they are imaginatively combined, it manifests in an array of physical possibilities resulting in a clay or pottery object of exquisite appeal. Clay can virtually be found anywhere on earth, but it only becomes valuable when it is metamorphosed into an aesthetically pleasing object, created by a skilful artist with a keen eye for form and functionality. Through research, we know that the making of objects from clay is the longest surviving handcraft and art form of which we have continuous knowledge over time. Exploring these ancient fundamentals of creating with clay is both a challenge and a pleasure for the creators to conceptualise, design and shape.

Clay carries history, literally and figuratively. Over tens of thousands of years, rocks in the earth’s crust have weathered, disintegrated, and were transported over long distances to eventually become clay. Clay is a fine-grained sediment, with a particle size of less than two-thousandths of a millimetre. When combined with water, it has a plasticity that allows it to be worked by hand into a multitude of forms, in this case ceramic vessels, clay figurines and clay spindle whorls. In the hands of an artist, clay is associated with the four elements of nature, i.e. earth, water, fire and air, as well as the passage of time. When fired at relatively low temperatures, clay is transformed into ceramics. Whether raw or refined, clay is a material with its own history and narrative.

This Mapungubwe gallery dedicated to showcasing over 108 ceramic vessels, clay spindle whorls, clay figurines and other ceramics predominantly from the archaeological ceramic collection dating from 1000 CE -1300 CE will certainly rekindle the prehistorical, historical, and contemporary significance of African ceramics in South Africa. Unique, truly one-of-a kind shallow bowls, beakers, beaker bowls, recurved jars, incurvate forms, miniature pinch pots to large ceramic containers, symbolic, human and anthropomorphic figures and clay spindle whorls are all celebrated in a unique gallery setting. The Mapungubwe Gallery is available for public viewing in the Old Arts Building and the exhibition is up until end of December 2025.

Villa Gallery
Level 3, Old Merensky Building
January 2022 to January 2026

Arriving at the impressive staircase to the Old Merensky Building, and entering to a beautiful and historical parquet floor is one of the largest university museum galleries, more popularly known for its sculptural and display of newly acquired artworks. A major highlight of this gallery, is the impressive, colourful, and massive, Alexis Preller’s (1911-1975), The discovery of the Sea route Circumnavigating Southern Africa (1959-1963). This gallery comprises of a western, eastern, and central wings of the museum, with some of the finest sculptural works comprising more than two hundred classic and modern sculptures, many the works pay homage to Edoardo Villa, Fanie Eloff and Anton Van Wouw. The oldest museum sculpture dates to 1881 and is titled, Bird catcher by the South African sculptor, Anton Van Wouw (1862-1945). Many of the new additions to the museum gallery share a particular enriched narrative and reflection in relation to sculpture and art within a South African context.

There is a wide diversity of artworks to explore, ranging from the art by Sydney Kumalo, Angus Taylor, Nandipha Mntambo, Collen Maswanganyi, Mashifane Makunyane, Lwandiso Njara, Sakie Seoka, Lukas Thobejane, Johan Thom, Abraham Makhubela, Martin Tose, Zelda Stroud, Willem Boshoff, Mike Edwards, Maureen Quin, Michael Teffo, Theophelus Rikhotso, Noria, Mabasa, Avi Sooful, Lucky Sibiya, Nikita Pereira, Norman Catherine, Wim Botha, and Jan van der Merwe. This open public display gallery and ever-expanding collection is considered one of the largest permanent sculptural collections at any university in South Africa and features a new portraiture wall of busts and portraits of prominent figures. Commonly referred to as the Villa Gallery, new acquisitions, works on temporary loan and artworks are often temporarily exhibited here to showcase the diversity and current new purchases by the University of Pretoria Art Committee.

World of Ceramics
Gallery 2-11, Old Arts Building
January 2023 to January 2026

The Western Ceramics Gallery
Presents a rare collection of Dutch commemorative war ceramics, Gouda wares inspired by Art Nouveau and Art Deco, as well as a unique assemblage of Dutch tiles including 18th through to 20th century ceramics from Spain, Portugal, France, Germany, and England among many more beautiful wares from other European countries. The celebration of the English and German floral tea set, cups, saucers, and tea pots from yesteryear are also a highlight in this exhibition. There is also a small tin- glaze ceramics exhibition dedicated to blue and white ceramics, typical of tin-glazed earthenware such as recognisable delftware, majolica, lead-glaze ware, lustre ware and faience examples. The western ceramics highlights a rare collection of war ceramics from World War 1 and World War 2 as well as a unique prehistoric ceramic from South America.

The Van Tilburg Art Collection Gallery
Forming part of the southern wing of the Old Arts Building, this gallery space exhibits a permanent gallery comprising a selection of 17th to 20th century Dutch masterpieces, as well as items of historical furniture donated to the University of Pretoria by J.A. Van Tilburg in 1976. This gallery offers a beautiful and exclusive meeting space with a central historical table surrounded by captivating paintings. A key highlight is a 14 th century merchant’s chest, the oldest known historical furniture piece in South Africa.