Going to See The Golden Rhino

I first heard about the Golden Rhino of Mapungubwe while on a JoburgPlaces walking tour of the CBD during the Joburg City Festival and I blogged about it after a subsequent Past Experiences walking tour of the mining district. Both tours walked by the much larger replica erected in front of the Standard Bank building which was formerly the site of the Cullinan Building. I knew I had to see the original someday as well as the archaeological site where it was originally excavated.

Step one achieved! Ros and I took the Gautrain to Pretoria to see the Mapungubwe Collection housed in the Old Arts Building on the campus of the University of Pretoria. As you can imagine, the capital city's university campus is huge with a typical mix of heritage buildings and more modern structures. Thankfully, Ros had called ahead to find out which of the many campus entrances was closest to the Old Arts Building.

We took the train from Sandton to Hartfield which is the end of the Pretoria line, one stop after the Pretoria CBD. It was a very short walk to the campus and after a minimum of fumbling we found ourselves at the Mapungubwe Museum. No pictures allowed!

The collection is housed in one large room. Displays on the perimeter walls tell the story of the expedition and excavation, the discovery of the civilization remains, and the culture of the people who inhabited Mapungubwe so long ago.

There was a display about the trade beads made of ivory and 24K gold which the local people would trade for goods from Asia. Interspersed between displays were collections of solid gold beaded necklaces, bracelets and anklets, golden scepters and vessels. There was a video monitor which I would imagine gives voice to the story of the discovery, but unfortunately it wasn't working. There was also a pretty large collection of gold fragments that belonged to one young boy. Lucky boy!

In the center of the room, the Golden Rhino ... and it was amazing. The Golden Rhino is about palm-sized. I wanted to take a picture of it with my palm as comparison, but did I mention, no pictures allowed! It is very detailed. Eyes, cute little ears and a jointed tail. And of course a horn. In their own display cases, also in the middle of the room, were a golden feline and a golden bovine. Not quite as finely crafted as the rhino - but still magnificent. By comparison, they really gave you an appreciation of the artistry and workmanship of the rhino's sculptor.

As we were leaving the campus we met an Arts Masters student who told us that the small collection on display is only a small fraction of the treasure unearthed at Mapungubwe. She told us the University is building a new state-of-the-art museum to display the full collection as well as the rest of the University's vast bequeathed art collection. Good news!