Lesotho: Makoanyane's Historic Figurines Made Digital

17 September 2021

This colonial-era Lesotho artist carved sculptures that were so close a depiction of their reality that they could well have been mistaken for machine-made reproductions.

Ceramic artist Samuele Makoanyane, who lived and worked in the village of Koalabata in the Teyateyaneng district not far from Maseru, displayed a profound gift for capturing intricate reproductions of people he met in everyday life. His adviser, agent and confidant CG Damant sold Makoanyane's work in Frasers Trading store in Maseru, and shipped some to different parts of South Africa, what was then Rhodesia and select places abroad. Along this course of their partnership, Damant advised Makoanyane to create models of his own people rather than missionaries, and to keep his figurines small so that they were easier to transport.

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