Nelson Mandela’s drawings of Robben Island will be sold by an auction house in London as non-fungible tokens (NFTs).
NFTs are digital artworks that are stored on a blockchain to prove ownership and originality. According to Business Insider, these artworks have been sold for record prices, resulting in $25 billion (about R383 billion) in sales in 2021. Many galleries, brands, and auction houses are investing in these different forms of digital art.
Mandela’s Robben Island drawings are five artworks and a motivation written by hand, which are being dropped as NFTs on 9 March. They will be released by Bonhams, one of the oldest auctioneers of antiques and fine art, and they will be the first-ever company to sell Mandela’s artwork as NFTs. These works will be offered through the Nifty Gateway NFT platform. The drawings reflect areas of Robben Island, where Nelson Mandela was locked up for eighteen years.
Picture: Flickr Commons / Robben Island by Carolina Odman
According to Bonhams, a full set of the artworks, as well as the motivation, will sell for $3 495 (R53 723), or a single work as an NFT will sell for $699 (R10 744). The size of the edition will be dependent on popular demand, and so far, a limit of 10 000 has been proposed by the art house.
The sale of these NFTs is in partnership with Mandela’s eldest daughter, Makaziwe Mandela. She said in an announcement released by Bonhams: ‘I am extremely pleased to be partnering with Bonhams and Nifty Gateway to offer these exclusive NFTs of my father’s work.’
The five artworks are titled, The Window, The Cell, The Church, The Harbour, and The Lighthouse. House of Mandela Art in an online description said: ‘He revisited the island to capture the essence of the island. After which he applied his unique style of bright colours to the series of works.’
Picture: Wikimedia Commons / Prasad Pillai
‘Nelson Mandela is quite simply an icon whose life is a source of strength and inspiration to millions of people throughout the world,’ Bonham’s director of modern and contemporary African art, Giles Peppiatt said.
Peppiatt hopes that selling these NFTs will give people an opportunity to enjoy Mandela’s work.
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