Tuesday, April 7, 2009

Recent Acquisitions: Gertrude Hance Collection

We recently added some very unique new acquisitions to our website. Several of these were profiled in the March, 2009 Ethnic Arts Council of Los Angeles (E.A.C.) Newsletter "Tribal Soul, Modern Eye” such as the Zulu Prestige Vessel below, but we wanted to mention a few more of the highlights, including those from the Gertrude Hance collection.
Gertrude Rachel Hance served for many years as a Presbyterian missionary to the Zulu peoples in Natal, South Africa. Ms. Hance was born in 1844 in the small town of Brookdale, Pennsylvania. She travelled to South Africa with the American Zulu Mission when she was only 26 years old and remained until 1899. If you are interested in learning more about her travels and experience as an intrepid American missionary, Hance published a book in 1916 called The Zulu Yesterday and Today: Twenty-Nine Years in South Africa. The book is out of print but can be found at select libraries or online at AbeBooks.

Ms. Hance was an extraordinary woman and we have several select objects from her fine collection of material culture from the region such as these beautiful baskets and snuff containers illustrated below.


Stay tuned as we will be adding and exhibiting additional pieces from this collection over the coming months.

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