R32,000
Frederick Timpson I’Ons (South African 1802 - 1887) SANDILE AND BHOTMANE
signed and dated 1862
oil on card laid down on backing card
33,5 by 25,5 cm; 56,5 by 48,5cm including framing
Portraiture was Fredrick Timpson I’Ons’ true métier and he was best when depicting amaXhosa and Khoi figures, in groups or individually (Redgrave & Barlow). Lots 461 and 462, depictions of amaXhosa figures in draped traditional attire, are excellent examplars of I’ons classical portraiture style. In Sandile with Subjects, Sandile is regal in his role as chief while receiving a couple. Incidentally, there is a photograph of Sandile in the selfsame pose (SA History). As the men converse the woman shyly bites her finger. In the relaxed scene of Sandile and Bhotomane (also known as Old Botman) sharing snuff, the atmosphere is heightened by the amusing interaction of the dog and frog in the lower right. Typically of I’ons, an aloe is included in both works. There is a liveliness to the paintings that confirms, to quote Redgrave and Barlow (p42), “[t]he subjects of his portraits are not types. They are individuals, observed, understood and interpreted.”
-L.R
Redgrave, JJ & Bradlow, E, Fredrick I’Ons, Artist, Cape Town: Maskew Miller, 1958
SA History, “Xhosa Chief Sandile Killed”, www.sahistory.org.za/dated-event/xhosa-chief-sandile-killed, Accessed 26 May 2022
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