Murumbi African Heritage Collections

Papillon

Joseph Murumbi and EA Pioneer artist Elkana Ongesa

Timeline Photos

OPEN LETTER TO PAULA KAHUMBU (OFFICIAL REPLY)

Nairobi Gallery hosts works by EA pioneer artists Elkana Ong’esa and Mwebe Expedito

http://www.theeastafrican.co.ke/magazine/Nairobi-Gallery-hosts-works-by-East-Africa-pioneer-sculptors/-/434746/2673952/-/p1349kz/-/index.html

theeastafrican.co.ke Lest we forget the amazing artists who were truly the pioneers of Kenya’s visual arts scene.

Cabinet Secretary, Ministry of foreign affairs & International Trade toured Murumbi African Heritage Collections on 14th Jan 2015 and was guided through the collection by Alan Donovan, The Chairman Murumbi Trust. Staff of Nairobi Gallery were also enthusiastic to meet the CS.

AFRICAN HERITAGE

In the pipeline.. Murumbi book

Kenya's African Heritage House- National Monument

Some argue that Art and heritage does not impact on economic progress of a people and a country....

What's your view on this?

http://www.standardmedia.co.ke/lifestyle/article/2000122400/the-treasure-murumbi-left

Int'l Day of Monuments & Sites

Are you fascinated and interested in ? The the Murumbi African Heritage Collections will be a good inspiration for you! Pay us a visit at The Nairobi Gallery. Get inspired by the layout and installation of the on going exhibition .

AFRICAN HERITAGE

Some sad news, We will end up loosing our National Heritage in a few weeks, does The National Museums of Kenya have a solution?

Alan Donovan with Cabinet Secretary Dr.Hassan Wario & Dr.Idle Farah, Director NMK having fun watching African jewelleries during the official opening of the Murumbi African Heritage collection!

US museum to return artefacts

Good News for our heritage is coming back!
http://www.nation.co.ke/news/US-museum-to-return-artefacts--/-/1056/2136652/-/l6j25tz/-/index.html?fb_action_ids=10202528330636833&fb_action_types=og.recommends&fb_source=aggregation&fb_aggregation_id=288381481237582

nation.co.ke A US museum has agreed to return artefacts belonging to a coastal community in what could be a significant breakthrough in efforts to return relics repatriated to western museums.

Sanaa Gateja the "Bead King" is having a special Holiday Exhibition at the Nairobi Gallery. The unique wall hangings and collars made of recycled newspapers and magazines are for sale.

The exhibition runs till March 1st 2014

In the Photo: Alan Donovan, Sanaa Gateja and his daughter Alex Gateja

African Spoons

Turkana "AKATOM" made of a camel stomach which has been shaped in the hot sand and fitted with a wooden stopper attached with goat sinew. It is used to hold fat for cooking.

'DREAM' - A sculpture by Elkana Ong'esa graces the main entry to the Nairobi Gallery

Murumbi African Heritage Collections's cover photo

This remarkable sculpture of Kisii soapstone was created by Elkana Ong'esa in 1974 from a dream Elkana had concerning the release of South Africa from the shackles of apartheid. In 1973, Elkana had participated in the first major exhibition at African Heritage on Kenyatta Avenue in Nairobi (demolished 1997 to make way for the I & M Tower,) with the extraordinary Nigerian artist and print maker Bruce Onobrakpeya.

In 1974, the sculpture was displayed at African Heritage where it remained until 1976 when the gallery and all its workshops and stores were decimated by fire. 'DREAM' was one of the few objects retrieved from the fire. It was repaired and taken to the home of Joe Murumbi in Muthaiga. In that same year, Murumbi sold a portion of his personal collections to the Kenyan Government, including his house, which was to be transformed into the Murumbi Institute of African Studies with the assistance of UNESCO.
The statue remained at the house for more than a decade until the house was allowed to deteriorate and the items had to be moved to the basement of the present Kenya National Archives . 'DREAM' was included among those items.

Elkana brought this oversight to the attention of various authorities but he was never paid for his work until September 2013 when SAROVA STANLEY agreed to pay the Murumbi Trust an agreed sum for Elkana, but the sculpture was to remain in the custody of the Kenya National Archives.
The Kenya National Archives has graciously loaned the sculpture to the Nairobi Gallery for the Murumbi African Heritage Collections exhibition.

Before he died, Murumbi asked Elkana to create a sculpture for his grave. Elkana produced a wonderful sculpture called " the bird of peace emerging from the stone of despair" (from a Martin Luther King speech) which now stands next to Murumbi's grave at the Murumbi Peace Memorial in Nairobi City Park, not far from the grave of Murumbi's friend and mentor, Pio Gama Pinto.

Nairobi Gallery's Hallway, arched French doors grace the exit door - Photo by Emma Nzioka NMG

An African Heritage Beaded tabard from the Cameroon on display at the textile room was worn by Cameroonian men after a successful elephant hunt. (Can you identify the trunk and the big ears?) - Photo by Emma Nzioka, NMG

Lady Magdalene Odundo's pot made of clay graces the
"Zero Point" where all distances in Kenya is measured from. The center of Kenya. Photo by Emma Nzioka, NMG

Happy New Year 2014!

JOSEPH & SHEILA MURUMBI

Joseph and Sheila Murumbi were among Africa's most famous collectors. Their mission was to preserve, protect and promote in all forms.
after having spent several years abroad on exile for his activities in organizing and promoting African politics through what had become a proscribed political party (The ) during the colonial period of , Joseph Murumbi returned to Kenya in 1962, with his young wife, Sheila. He became Kenya's first Foreign Minister. He was instrumental in forming the country's , in setting up the country's representations abroad, and overseeing the formation of , as well as representing Kenya in all international meetings.
He was promoted to in 1966, a post he held for less than a year. He resigned so near the pinnacle of power because of what he perceived as . Also the of Murumbi's and best , , the victim of the country's had had a chilling effect on Murumbi.
He left the government to go into private business, most notably achieving his in 1972 to set up the in , , with his wife, and designer . This allowed him to persue his passion for collecting African art, antiques, artifacts from all parts of Africa, as well as books, 50,000 on Africa, and a rare collection of .
In 1976, following a devastating fire at African Heritage, Murumbi sold part of his collections to the Kenyan Government. Thr government the asked to acquire Murumbi's in , which he sold on condition that it become of . agreed to fund the additions of a kitchen, a library and a hostel.

Murumbi then moved to the Rift Valley, near the , to help develop the husbandry among his mother's people, the . He built a stunning house at and would have lived there happily, except that his health took a turn for the worse. After several strokes, culminating with a fall in his bathroom, Murumbi was evacuated to Nairobi.
The house still stands a monument to desecration, the doors and windows removed by vandals. It was then he heard the dismaying news that his favorite trees at his beloved Muthaiga house had been cut down. The house itself had been allowed to deteriorate for many years until it was finally demolished, the collections moved to the basement of the present and the land given to private parties. Murumbi died in #1990, shortly after viewing the site from his wheelchair.

was set up in #2003 and with the help of , the original Murumbi Collections were rehabilitated and displayed at the at the Kenya National Archives in December 2006, thirty years after Murumbi had sold them.

It had been Murumbi's wish to be buried near his old mentor and friend, . As the old City Park Cemetery was full, Murumbi was buried outside the cemetery in the City Park. Murumbi was buried next to her husband in the year 2000. Their graves were vandalised several times and the plot was threatened to be taken over by private developers. After a public outcry, the graves were at last rehabilitated by the Murumbi Trust and several scultures by artists close to the Murumbis were placed nearby the graves. opened in #2009. It has now been as a and will remain intact as part of the present plans to rehabilitate the Nairobi City Park.
Following the death of Murumbi, a long legal battle ensued to prevent the remaining from leaving the , including thousands of books on Africa published before 1900 and the rare African stamp collection. After the intervention of the Vice President, Hon. Moody Awori, it was finally agreed to turn these collections over to the Kenya National Archives and the National Museums of Kenya. Ten years after Sheila Murumbi's death, the collections were released.
It has been noted that Murumbi had fought to make the 's the when he was Foreign Minister in the early 1960's. The Sheila Murumbi collections from the National Museums of Kenya and the Kenya National Archives have been reunited to form the basis for the , together with other items from , including rare costumes and fashions from 's African Heritage Festival that travelled around the world promoting Kenya and African Culture. Through the foresight and fortitude of Joseph and Sheila Murumbi, future generations can now at last enjoy this remarkable collection from their African Heritage.

from the

Like the swahili language (basically a mixture of Bantu and Arabic) the swahili celebrates a far flung reflected in the , the ( & ) and the and .
Wealthy swahili households boast intricately carved wooden doors and lacquered, turned bedposts of early design as well as carved wooden chests inlaid and studded with brass (although these items have since been produced for hundreds of years by indigenous artisans in centres like & .)
Central to the Swahili kitchen and the elaborate ritual of eating in the Swahili households are large (called ), metal coffee pots and brass and copper utensils which came from , and along with items such as engraved brass urns, pots and other items bought in for swahili nobility.
Commerce from the brought in mainly plates, jars and water pots as well as painted ceramic plates from China, Holland and other countries of Europe.
Such items have been passed down for generations.
The features objects from this which is old and unique to the .

will ever remain an outstanding figure who was fired by neither political power nor personal ambition. He said " Power never interested me. I felt that I was in the struggle for independence and when I was invited to become a Minister I thought there was a contribution I could make" he said in 1985 interview.

On his 77th Birthday Joe said the last words on his political career: My job as a was to serve and serve the people and I hope history will respect me because I was an honest man"

Lets explore the various galleries at the .

HOME:
This room reflects the original Murumbi house at Muthaiga which the Murumbis lived in from 1963 to 1977. These items were also in the Murumbi homes in Transmara near the Maasai Mara Game Reserve and at their last home at Riara Road, off Ngong Road in Nairobi.
All these items were left behind with the passing of in November 2000 and were kept in storage for more than a due to problems with her estate since she died .
The items are now in to the National Museums of Kenya and to The Kenya National Archives, the latter having kindly provided items to the Nairobi Gallery on extended loan.
The original Murumbi house in Muthaiga was sold to the Kenyan Government in #1977 after having sold an extensive part of the to the Government in 1976 after a completely devastated on Avenue.
Murumbi sold the house on condition that it become of . agreed to a library, kitchen and hostel for visiting .
However the was later , the transferred to the present , and the taken over by private parties.
Murumbi had an extensive collection of "coastal" or swahili style furniture, a small part of which is on here. Many of these pieces came down to Kenya during the over the last 1000 years from , the , and even and .

Welcome all and sundry to the at the for more...

& OF THE :
- About the time discovered , the brought in beads, used in royal costumes up to the present.

- Commoners were not allowed to wear royal beads on of death, but they could be awarded royal beads in a similar to

-The mother wore a network of beads in a unique beehive hairdo.

Plan to tour the collections at the for a glimpse of these .

Celebrate Kenya@50 by visiting the Murumbi African Heritage Collections at the , kuwa .