Rock Art Research Institute &
The Bradshaw Foundation

Below left, Justine Olofsson, who reproduced the colour rendering shown on the previous page from a polythene tracing made by Patricia Vinnicombe. Below right, Ghilraen Laue and Justine Olofsson, watched by Pat Vinnicombe, at work on facsimile copies of rock paintings.

The men-in-boats fishing scene from Mpongweni Mountain in the KwaZulu-Natal Drakensberg has often been reproduced, but usually in isolation. This facsimile copy, made by Justine Olofsson, whose work is being supported by the Bradshaw Foundation, includes the horse paintings with which the fishing scene is associated. It is therefore unlikely that the scenes are of any great age, as most of the horse paintings date from the 19th century.

This particular group of paintings depicts kaross-clad figures in the bending over posture and holding two sticks that is typical of San ritual specialists who control the movements of game. This site, in the Orange River catchment area in Lesotho, was first reported by Dr. Lucas Smiths in the South African Archaeological Bulletin of 1973. The composition was later used in a series of Lesotho stamps based on the rock paintings from that country. This colour copy was made in April 2000 by Justine Olofsson from a tracing taken by Patricia Vinnicombe in August 1974.

RARI & Bradshaw Foundation Page [1] [2]