Lucas SITHOLE
1931 - 1994
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Between the transitional period and the fine arts stage - a borderline case!
Front view
"Mask" pre-1960 - beaten copper sheet with copper oxide patina - 56.5x26.6x5 cm
Partial back view
Partial back view showing a copper braided herringbone rope for hanging, attached on two folds
Signature
Part of the correct signature showing unique etched marks around the letters, the only such recorded method of signing by Lucas Sithole!
Provenance
The current owner in Virginia, USA, reported in September, 2011:
"I acquired this artwork through our salvage operations in The Shenandoah Valley, Virginia. It came in for scrap and was just about to be sheared when I saw it. Talk about perfect timing, if I had been delayed as little as 30 seconds it unfortunately would have been cut up into several pieces. I did manage to clean the artwork up and that's when I noticed the artist's signature. It obviously had been in a very dirty environment for several decades".
At present, nothing else is known about previous ownerships. Should any visitor of this web page know more about this work, please contact us confidentially with further details of its history!
This mask may possibly originate from the Gainsborough Galleries, Johannesburg, in 1960, where other traditional works came from (see notes on p.4 on http://www.sithole.com/PDFs/SITHOLE_transitional_C03.pdf), or from the Adler Fielding Galleries, Johannesburg.
The only other "Mask" (a bronze) ever recorded in our Master Registry was shown at the Adler Fielding Galleries, Johannesburg, in 1967.
Lucas Sithole did a few panels in the early 1960s, using copper sheet beaten on wood with green copper oxide applied - click on LS6303, LS6309 and LS6310 on http://www.sithole.com/Sithole_Mini_Master_Registry-other_media_II..htm
However, in terms of policy of our Master Registry, any sculpture that has adornments or attachments is considered "transitional", and does not get identified with an "LS" reference number, as it would not have entered the fine arts gallery circuit.
Page updated 7th March, 2014