Ending 7th Jun, 2026 16:00
Olympia Timed: Modern and Contemporary African and Middle Eastern Art 2026
339
QMAO (BOTSWANAN 1940-1995)
(I) TWO SNAKES AND A MAN
(II) OLD PEOPLE AND SPIDER
(i) inscribed 39/50 TWO SNAKES WITH A MAN QMAO in pencil lower margin
(ii) inscribed 5/60 OLD PEOPLE AND SPIDER QMAO 1992 in pencil lower margin
(i) lithograph printed in colours on wove paper with full margins
(ii) lithograph on wove paper with full margins
(i) 44.5 x 57.5cm; 17 1/2 x 22 1/2in (sheet)
(ii) 56.5 x 76cm; 22 1/4 x 30in (sheet)
both unframed
(2)
Property of a Private Collector, Brighton
Provenance
Acquired from the artist by the present owner
Qmao was a San artist associated with the Kuru Art Project in D'Kar, Ghanzi District, Botswana, who worked primarily in lithograph on paper. The Kuru Art Project, established in 1990, provided San artists of the Kalahari with a dedicated space and materials in which to develop a contemporary art practice rooted in the visual traditions, mythology and landscape knowledge of the San people. Qmao's lithographs typically render the animals and figures of the Kalahari in a boldly patterned style that reflects the storytelling traditions and cosmological worldview of the San, in which humans, animals and spirits inhabit a shared, permeable reality.
Sold for £5
(I) TWO SNAKES AND A MAN
(II) OLD PEOPLE AND SPIDER
(i) inscribed 39/50 TWO SNAKES WITH A MAN QMAO in pencil lower margin
(ii) inscribed 5/60 OLD PEOPLE AND SPIDER QMAO 1992 in pencil lower margin
(i) lithograph printed in colours on wove paper with full margins
(ii) lithograph on wove paper with full margins
(i) 44.5 x 57.5cm; 17 1/2 x 22 1/2in (sheet)
(ii) 56.5 x 76cm; 22 1/4 x 30in (sheet)
both unframed
(2)
Property of a Private Collector, Brighton
Provenance
Acquired from the artist by the present owner
Qmao was a San artist associated with the Kuru Art Project in D'Kar, Ghanzi District, Botswana, who worked primarily in lithograph on paper. The Kuru Art Project, established in 1990, provided San artists of the Kalahari with a dedicated space and materials in which to develop a contemporary art practice rooted in the visual traditions, mythology and landscape knowledge of the San people. Qmao's lithographs typically render the animals and figures of the Kalahari in a boldly patterned style that reflects the storytelling traditions and cosmological worldview of the San, in which humans, animals and spirits inhabit a shared, permeable reality.
Auction: Olympia Timed: Modern and Contemporary African and Middle Eastern Art 2026, ending 7th Jun, 2026
If you want to start collecting striking modern and contemporary art in a newly developing market, our sales are for you. Each spring and autumn, the Modern and Contemporary African and Middle Eastern Department hold tightly curated, live and online auctions. Expect to find Arab artists such as Rabab Nemr, Ahmed Farid, Seif Wanly and Fateh Moudarres. African artists featured have ranged from modern masters such as Ablade Glover, Sam Ntiro and Jacob Hendrik Pierneef, to contemporary artists George Lilanga, Jilali Gharbaoui, Famakan Magassa, Christano Mangovo, Oluwole Omofemi, Esther Mahlangu and Brett Seiler.
