Visiting South Africa—several years ago—was a wonderfully enriching trip. One of the employees in the LEO Design shop was a Capetonian and he invited me for a visit. I had a great ten days exploring his city and the surrounding towns, wineries, coastlines and velds.
Visiting The Cape of Good Hope was at the top of my visitor's checklist. Standing atop a rocky cliff, looking-down upon The Cape, I was overcome with the historic enormity of this most-significant geographic point on Earth. The waters are notoriously rough—not far from the point where the Indian Ocean meets the Atlantic Ocean. Circumnavigating this point—and its treacherous stretch of water—had long been a goal of European sailors (and the kings and merchants who sponsored them). Beyond mastering the dangerous waters, rounding The Cape held psychological import for sailors, too. Once sailors had passed The Cape, it was straight-on to Asia (or the final home stretch to Europe).
The first recorded "rounding" of The Cape was by Portuguese seafarer Bartolomeu Dias in 1487. The Portuguese (at that time the greatest sailors in the world) were looking for a faster, direct sea route (for merchant-traders) from Lisbon to India, China and Japan. Dias's accomplishment was a breakthrough in 15th Century travel. Dias named The Cape O Cabo das Tormentos ("The Cape of Storms") though his Portuguese monarch, King John II, quickly renamed it O Cabo da Boa Esperança ("The Cape of Good Hope"). The King aimed to promote the optimistic potential of the new sea route—and did not want to dissuade potential ship crews from signing-on to future expeditions. The Dutch—who were themselves excellent long-distance seafarers—called The Cape Stormkaap. Some 2,000 years before Bartolomeu Dias, the Ancient Greek Historian, Herodotus, wrote that the Phoenicians previously may have rounded The Cape, though specific details are slim.
As notorious as The Cape of Good Hope is (and remains), it is not the Southernmost point of continental Africa. Nor is it the precise meeting point of the Indian and Atlantic Oceans. That point is 90 miles southeast: Cape Agulhas (which I also visited). The Indian Ocean and the Atlantic Ocean meet in this approximate spot (though the dividing line moves a bit, depending upon the currents and the seasons).
While in South Africa, I picked-up a number of sculptures, including the African lion, shown above, which was made by Zimbabwean-born artist, Enock Mpofu. Sculptures like these often are made in "cottage industry" home-workshops. Frequently, the men will sculpt the stiff wire forms and women will string the beads (on more pliable wire) which they lash to the heavier wire under-form.
Click on the photo above to learn more about this handsome (anatomically correct) King of the Beasts.
Though our Greenwich Village store is now permanently closed, LEO Design is still alive and well! Please visit our on-line store where we continue to sell Handsome Gifts (www.LEOdesignNYC.com).
To arrange a visit our Pittsburgh showroom (by private appointment only), please call 917-446-4248.