You must remember that beads before trade, before the artisan trade beads did not exist. Colour was something that linked you directly to nature. It was the flowers at this time of the year, it was the fruits of that time of the year And suddenly, these things turned up. These seeds, the so-called seed beads that had color that lasted for ever.

And ever since then, we’ve had the most beautiful beadwork and while the rest of the world was embroidering these beads, we were making incredible jewelry of these beads. Beads that spoke. And that you can still find everywhere. The language of symbols, of colour. Later on – of letters. It’s wonderful, and it’s still being made all over the place.

Out in the countryside, where people have not been ruined by modern technology to that extent, people can still make wonderful things without having cones, and wheels, and glazers, and all these sorts of things. People who still honor their craft.

People who are still celebrating themselves. People who are still surrounded by those values that we should all hold so dear. Phansi Museum is our celebration of the beauty of the indigenous art of South Africa.