Frank Jolles Collection of Zulu Arts and Indigenous Knowledge Systems

This project inventories personal papers, fieldwork archives, and material culture/artwork holdings collected by Dr. Frank Jolles (1931-2014) from the late 1980s until the mid 2000s in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. Also included is a photographic archive by the studio Z.J.S. Ndimande and Sons produced from the 1940s to 1980s. Jolles’ unique archive provides documentation of geographical sources, maker attributions, and original ownership of artworks held in the archive and documentation of sales or donations to globally renown art collections. Cataloging and digitization will preserve invaluable provenance, allow precise art attributions, and facilitate reconnections with origin communities and indigenous knowledge systems.