Ntombi Nala
| Artist Name: | Ntombi Nala |
| Nationality: | South African |
| Year of birth: | 1953 |
| Artist information: | Born in 1953, Ntombi Nala lives in a rural area near Eshowe, KwaZulu Natal. Her grandmother, Mmaza Zuma, taught her the craft of pottery-making, as she hails from a long line of potters. However, it was only after she married and relocated to her husband's farm that she began to make pots for her community. She started when she was 26 years old, following the birth of her first child. She has four sons and one daughter and has taught two of her sons, Senzo and Afrika, to make clay pots as well. Ntombi creates gigantic clay beer containers with traditional ukhamba and uphiso shapes, as well as traditional amansumpa decorative designs. These are burned in a pit and need four to six weeks to build. Because of the sheer size of her pots, Ntombi must take risks, yet she succeeds admirably thanks to her special gift. Her first auctioned item was Umancishana (Traditional isiZulu vessel) at Strauss & Co. in Cape Town in 2023. Sources: https://www.mutualart.com/Arti... [Accessed 15 August 2024] https://www.kznarchives.gov.za... [ Accessed 15 August 2024] https://www.artsmart.co.za/vis... [Accessed 15 August 2024] See this video of Ntombi Nala working: https://www.kznarchives.gov.za... [Accessed 15 August 2024] |
