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Related Collections from the Archive
Behind the imposing grey granite walls of the National Mutual Building of Australasia, on Church Square, lie over 150 000 historical artefacts.
These priceless objects are housed in the Iziko Social History Centre, where the collections of some of Iziko’s 11 museums have been brought together under one roof. The building, historical in itself after being constructed for the insurance company 1905, was renovated and extended to facilitate the merger of collections in 2010.
The renovated building boasts a range of special features and has been turned into a world-class museum facility for the housing of the reserve Social History collections and archives. The collections are housed in a secure environment, with temperature and humidity control as well as fire prevention systems. However, curators at the museum are still unpacking and categorising the thousands of items from various local museums, says curator Esther Esmyol. This is set to keep going on for many more years.
Some of the gems hidden behind the imposing walls include indigenous cultural material from southern Africa, artefacts from the colonial period of the Cape, including maritime and historical archaeology, as well as collections of world ceramics, furniture, coins and textiles.
The textile collection boasts over 12 000 items, ranging from leather clothing worn by the San thousands of years ago, colonial dresses and shoes, and even contemporary items such as an EFF beret.
Hidden away among the hundreds of drawers in the storeroom housing this collection are delicate beaded items from almost every South African culture – a contrast of the vivid Tsonga colours threaded through the patterns, bold blue shapes interwoven in Xhosa necklaces and the iconic geometric shapes of the Ndebele.
One of collection assistant Ayesha Hendricks’ favourite items is a Middle Eastern textile called a suzani, which was commissioned by a Cape Town family in 1860 and made in Uzbekistan. Traditionally made as part of a dowry, the pattern of the suzani is drawn by the head of the house, with up to six women working to each create a panel. The panels were then connected by the family matriarch.
“You can see each individual’s handiwork,” says Hendricks.
The centre also houses thousands of other handmade items, with an extensive ceramic collection including KhoiSan pottery pieces from 2000 years ago, woven grass baskets, masks from across Africa and wooden beer making pots and drums. Some more modern items can also be found, such as the museum’s collection of wire toy cars.
But the museum group is more than just a collector, with exhibitions often taking place in partnership with external events and organisations. “Museums are more than collectors, conservers or keepers of the past. Our role has changed radically to be catalysts that make the connections between our collections, initiate, inspire and instigate discussions and exhibitions on contemporary thought, as well as to promote tolerance and social cohesion. We can play an important role in supporting our democracy, says Rooksana Omar, Iziko’s CEO.
The museum is looking to enact this through their in_Herit Festival, which takes place from Monday 19 to Sunday 25 September. The festival offers free entry to all Iziko museums during this time. People’s Post is the media partner of the in_Herit Festival.
Behind the imposing grey granite walls of the National Mutual Building of Australasia, on Church Square, lie over 150 000 historical artefacts.
These priceless objects are housed in the Iziko Social History Centre, where the collections of some of Iziko’s 11 museums have been brought together under one roof. The building, historical in itself after being constructed for the insurance company 1905, was renovated and extended to facilitate the merger of collections in 2010.
The renovated building boasts a range of special features and has been turned into a world-class museum facility for the housing of the reserve Social History collections and archives. The collections are housed in a secure environment, with temperature and humidity control as well as fire prevention systems.
However, curators at the museum are still unpacking and categorising the thousands of items from various local museums, says curator Esther Esmyol. This is set to keep going on for many more years.
Some of the gems hidden behind the imposing walls include indigenous cultural material from southern Africa, artefacts from the colonial period of the Cape, including maritime and historical archaeology, as well as collections of world ceramics, furniture, coins and textiles.
The textile collection boasts over 12 000 items, ranging from leather clothing worn by the San thousands of years ago, colonial dresses and shoes, and even contemporary items such as an EFF beret.
Hidden away among the hundreds of drawers in the storeroom housing this collection are delicate beaded items from almost every South African culture – a contrast of the vivid Tsonga colours threaded through the patterns, bold blue shapes interwoven in Xhosa necklaces and the iconic geometric shapes of the Ndebele.
One of collection assistant Ayesha Hendricks’ favourite items is a Middle Eastern textile called a suzani, which was commissioned by a Cape Town family in 1860 and made in Uzbekistan. Traditionally made as part of a dowry, the pattern of the suzani is drawn by the head of the house, with up to six women working to each create a panel. The panels were then connected by the family matriarch.
“You can see each individual’s handiwork,” says Hendricks.
The centre also houses thousands of other handmade items, with an extensive ceramic collection including KhoiSan pottery pieces from 2000 years ago, woven grass baskets, masks from across Africa and wooden beer making pots and drums. Some more modern items can also be found, such as the museum’s collection of wire toy cars.
But the museum group is more than just a collector, with exhibitions often taking place in partnership with external events and organisations.
“Museums are more than collectors, conservers or keepers of the past. Our role has changed radically to be catalysts that make the connections between our collections, initiate, inspire and instigate discussions and exhibitions on contemporary thought, as well as to promote tolerance and social cohesion. We can play an important role in supporting our democracy, says Rooksana Omar, Iziko’s CEO.
The museum is looking to enact this through their in_Herit Festival, which takes place from Monday 19 to Sunday 25 September. The in_Herit Festival offers free entry to all Iziko museums during this time. People’s Post is the media partner of the in_Herit Festival.