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25 Death of Dingane (February 1840) B2 25 Death of Dingane (February 1840) B2 C2 D N 25 Death of Dingane 26 27 1 25 2 West wall (panel 29/31) 24 3 h. 2.3 × w. 2.4 m 4 23 Badly damaged by continuous vertical and horizontal fractures; numerous patches, e.g. in lower right leg of woman furthest left, left knee and lower leg 22 5 of third woman from left and at Dingane’s right shoulder, front apron and around lower end of tail of genets (‘izinjobo’) 21 Sculptor of clay maquette: Laurika Postma 6 20 Stages of production 7 B1 One-third-scale clay maquette, not extant but replicated in B2 (1942–43) 19 B2 One-third-scale plaster maquette, h. 75.5 × w. 84.7 × d. 9 cm (1942–43) 8 18 C1 Full-scale wooden armature, not extant (1943–46) 17 9 C2 Full-scale clay relief, not extant but photographed; replicated in C3 16 10 (1943–46) 15 14 13 12 11 C3 Full-scale plaster relief (1943–46); not extant but copied in D (late 1947–49) 0 5 10 m D Marble as installed in the Monument (1949) Early records SVK minutes (4.9.1937) ― item 4s (see below, ‘Developing the design’) Voorstelle (5.12.1934?) ― item 6 ‘Dood van Dingane, volgens die verslag van Karel Trichardt, aan die Maputa. Trichardt op eilandjie in rivier neem waar hoe die Swazi Sopoeza die voortvlugtende Dingane op die wal van die rivier inhaal en op die punt staan om hom af te maak’ (Death of Dingane, according to the report of Karel [Carolus Johannes] Trichardt at the Maputa. Trichardt on a small island in the river takes note of how the Swazi Sopoeza catches the fugitive Dingane on the bank of the river and stands on the point to finish him off) Wenke (c. 1934–36) ― item II Dr. L. Steenkamp, mnre. A.J. du Plessis en M. Basson, A. ‘MAATSKAPLIK’ (Social), 3. ‘Verhouding met ander volksgroepe’ (Relationship with other ethnic groups), d. ‘Dingaan’ (Dingane), xii.c. ‘Vlug van Dingaan’ (Flight of Dingane) Open Access. © 2020 Elizabeth Rankin and Rolf Michael Schneider, published by De Gruyter and African Minds. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110668797-030 546 25 Death of Dingane Figure 25.1: D. Death of Dingane. 1949. Marble, 2.3 × 2.4 m (courtesy of VTM; photo Russell Scott) Description 547 Description This panel is unique in its focus solely on black people (fig. 25.1). The central figure in the fore- ground is Dingane, distinguished by his features, well-built frame and royal regalia similar to that seen in Treaty. His eyes are closed and his haggard features are marked by strong but controlled suffering. His shield and assegai abandoned beside him, the king, his fist clenched next to his heart, has fallen to his knees and his total collapse is only prevented by his outstretched right arm. With his left leg extended backwards and his shield lying forwards, he occupies the entire width of the panel. His adversary is a virile Swazi who stands tall, his legs straddling Dingane as he stabs him in the back, thrusting the assegai home with his right arm, while the other holds a knobkierie. Behind, four young Zulu women on the left and three further Swazi coming in from the right reinforce the narrative drama. The Swazi stand ready with weapons to support the attack, and their shields provide a martial backdrop for their leader in the foreground. The women who face them are in disarray, mostly turning or moving away in distress from the defeated Dingane. In striking contrast to Dingane’s cruel execution, the three women on the left, wearing only neckpieces and ornamented girdles with a small front apron,1254 are posed like nude studio models, and shown with classical proportions. With supple bodies and limbs, they effortlessly balance supplies from the royal household on their heads: a calabash, a beer vessel, and a light basket filled with house- hold goods.1255 The Swazi are distinguished from the Zulu by more voluminous wig-like hairstyles and short skirts made of a single piece of skin. Their facial expressions are severe, emphasised by their frown lines and high cheekbones. The attackers have their eyes almost closed, not in anguish like Dingane or his women, but to intensify their aggressive downward gaze on the Zulu king. 1254 Zulu treasures 1996, 150–158 (‘Beads that speak’), 160–163 (neckpieces and girdles), 171–181 (earplugs); a fine speciman of a girdle is illustrated in Giblin and Spring 2016, 158 fig. 51). 1255 Zulu treasures 1996, 128–129 figs c4–c7 (clay-made beer vessels), 140 fig. g15 (grass-woven basket). 548 25 Death of Dingane Figure 25.2: B2. Laurika Postma. Death of Dingane. 1942–43. Plaster, 77.5 × 84.7 × 9 cm. Maquette (courtesy of VTM Museum VTM 2184/1–28; photo Russell Scott) Figure 25.3: C2. Death of Dingane. 1943–46. Clay. Full-scale relief (Pillman 1984, 53; photo Alan Yates) Developing the design 549 Developing the design The subject of Dingane’s death was not included in the list of topics for the frieze drawn up in 1 9 3 7, 1256 for which Coetzer was asked to provide sketches. It had been proposed in the very earliest ‘Voorstelle’ list of c.1934, but, from the point of view of Afrikaner history, it was included as part of the extended story of Louis Trichardt’s trek. That narrative recounted that it was his son, Carolus Johannes (1811–1901),1257 who witnessed the king’s assassination after he had left his father’s party at Delagoa Bay to explore possible sites for them to settle. But in Jansen’s copy of ‘Voorstelle’,1258 this item was scored out, and it did not reappear until the maquettes for the frieze were being made, presumably recalled again because of the need for an additional corner panel. Thus the design of the narrative seems to have been developed entirely by Laurika Postma when she began to make the maquette (fig. 25.2). Here the layout of the composition with Zulu women and Swazi warriors as a backdrop for the central group – a Swazi stabbing a crouching Dingane to death – is for the most part set. Yet, in comparison with the full-size clay (fig. 25.3), there are signifi- cant differences. Back- and foreground figures are more vividly portrayed, with the killing action of the Swazi leader more strongly articulated. The figures are stockier and modelled in a rather fleshy way in the maquette, particularly the women. The figures are also more closely packed together, and the buttocks of a fifth woman are visible on the far left, behind the sturdy female in the fore- ground. While three women wear the small aprons of the final panel, here two have fuller skirt-like aprons. We can also see more of the torsos of the Swazi as they hold their shields lower, and their leader looks down at his victim. Dingane’s weakness is dramatically expressed by his slumped and suffering body, and his left hand splayed over his heart. The central woman in three-quarter view behind him is moving to the left, judging by the way her apron moves, but she turns her head as if she is looking back at the Swazi. However, our reading of the figure is disrupted by the unfortunate overlap of the right arm and assegai of the Swazi next to her. In the full-scale clay the composition was changed in favour of a more ceremonial staging of the figures, although the disturbing overlap mentioned above remained. Dingane is posed parallel to the picture plane and his left hand is no longer splayed but clenched. His regal dress is more fully portrayed and he wears a skin collar instead of crossed bandoliers. His younger adversary now holds his head high. Like his companions in the background, who are characterised by grimmer faces and reduced movement, he is less animated and more statuesque, suggesting a cold and calculated act. In general, all the figures are more slender and less fleshy, yet the nakedness of the women is made more explicit as all wear reduced aprons, and their profiles and buttocks are more pronounced. This is clearest in the foreground figure, as the back view of a fifth woman has been removed. Changes in the female figures may also have been promoted by Postma’s access to a nude model. Although he does not provide the names of any of the models in this scene, Hennie Pot- gieter recounted in 1987 that ‘after much difficulty Laurika [Postma] managed eventually to find a young Black woman willing to pose in Zulu dress of only a hip covering, provided there was a screen erected around Laurika and her’.1259 There are also modifications of pose, as for the woman in the centre background, made more distinct by representing her body in frontal and her head in profile view. But when Romanelli’s sculptors copied the full-scale clay into the stone-hard surface of the final marble (fig. 25.1), they reduced the physical essence of many details such as a nuanced rendering of flesh, the depiction of nipples, the texture of hair and the individual ornaments 1256 ARCA PV94 1/75/1/7, quoted in Part I, Chapter 2. 1257 DSAB 1, 1968, 799–802; Visagie 2011, 498–499. 1258 ARCA PV94 1/75/1/7: the various lists of proposals are discussed in Part I, Chapter 2; see fig.
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