Esther Mahlangu (SOUTH AFRICAN B.1935)

Lot description

ESTHER MAHLANGU (SOUTH AFRICAN B.1935) UNTITLED (TRAY WITH NDEBELE PATTERN) signed and dated ESTHeR Mahlangu 2014 on the handle acrylic on wood 33.2 x 48.7 x 8.1cm; 13 x 19 1/4 x 3in Property of a Private Collector, Cambridge Provenance Acquired from the artist Sale, Strauss and Co, Johannesburg, 1 August to 18 August 2025, lot 244 Acquired from the above by the present owner The DinksFãStan Private Collection, Cambridge, UK Esther Nikwambi Mahlangu is a South African artist of the Southern Ndebele people. She learned the Ndebele tradition of mural painting from her mother and grandmother from about age ten, and is credited with transforming that tradition - originally practiced on adobe walls - into a contemporary visual language on canvas, metal, vehicles and other unconventional supports. Her international breakthrough occurred in the 1989 Magiciens de la terre exhibition in Paris, and again in 1991 when she was commissioned to paint a BMW 5 Series as a part of the Art Car Program, alongside artists such as Roy Lichtenstein, Andy Warhol and Julie Mehretu. Mhalangu’s distinct Ndebele patterns find their most playful application with the present lot. A simple tray is covered with Mahlangu’s hand-painted vibrant geometric designs. Executed in 2014, Untitled (Tray with Ndebele Pattern) demonstrates Mahlangu’s self-proclaimed proficiencies as the best mural painter of the Ndebele on a uniquely intimate scale. One of her murals is currently installed at the Serpentine Gallery, London until 31 March 2026.