“Keeper of the Heart” Necklace (isigcina)
- Culture
- Mfengu artist
- Date
- first half 20th century
- associated with
- Eastern Cape province, South Africa, Africa
- Classification
- Jewelry & personal accessories
- Collection
- Arts of Africa, Oceania, and the Americas
- Current Location
- Not on view
- Dimensions
- panel: 4 1/2 × 8 3/4 in. (11.4 × 22.2 cm)
18 in. (45.7 cm) - Credit Line
- Director's Discretionary Fund
- Rights
- Public Domain
- Object Number
- 33:2023
Provenance
early 1980s - late 1980s
Lionel Finneran and Marion Finneran (neé Philips), Cape Town, South Africa
late 1980s - 1997
Philips family collection (Gerald Philips), Cape Town, South Africa, by divorce
1997 - 2023
Axis Gallery (Gary van Wyk), West Orange, NJ, acquired from Gerald Philips
2023 -
Saint Louis Art Museum, purchased from Axis Gallery (Gary van Wyk), West Orange, NJ [1]
Notes:
The main source of this information is an August 16, 2023 email from Gary van Wyk of Axis Gallery to Elyse Mack. Mr. van Wyk stated the necklace was "acquired by Lionel Finneran before 1987...[who was] buying widely from others and field collecting among Xhosa-speaking groups himself in the early 1980s." Mr. van Wyk identified Lionel and Marion Finneran "divorced in the late 1980s...and the African collection passed to his ex-wife' Marion's family, the Philips family, controlled by Gerald Philips of Cape Town." Mr. van Wyk and Gerald Philips entered a partnership in 1997 that formed Axis Gallery [email in SLAM document files].
[1] Invoice dated July 27, 2023 [SLAM document files]. Minutes of the Collections Committee of the Board of Trustees, Saint Louis Art Museum, September 18, 2023.
Lionel Finneran and Marion Finneran (neé Philips), Cape Town, South Africa
late 1980s - 1997
Philips family collection (Gerald Philips), Cape Town, South Africa, by divorce
1997 - 2023
Axis Gallery (Gary van Wyk), West Orange, NJ, acquired from Gerald Philips
2023 -
Saint Louis Art Museum, purchased from Axis Gallery (Gary van Wyk), West Orange, NJ [1]
Notes:
The main source of this information is an August 16, 2023 email from Gary van Wyk of Axis Gallery to Elyse Mack. Mr. van Wyk stated the necklace was "acquired by Lionel Finneran before 1987...[who was] buying widely from others and field collecting among Xhosa-speaking groups himself in the early 1980s." Mr. van Wyk identified Lionel and Marion Finneran "divorced in the late 1980s...and the African collection passed to his ex-wife' Marion's family, the Philips family, controlled by Gerald Philips of Cape Town." Mr. van Wyk and Gerald Philips entered a partnership in 1997 that formed Axis Gallery [email in SLAM document files].
[1] Invoice dated July 27, 2023 [SLAM document files]. Minutes of the Collections Committee of the Board of Trustees, Saint Louis Art Museum, September 18, 2023.
We regularly update records, which may be incomplete. If you have additional information, please contact us at provenance@slam.org.