The money raised by the collection, inspired by the original arrest warrant for Nelson Mandela, will go to an organisation seeking to fund the fight for democracy in the country.
An NFT created from the original 1961 arrest warrant for Nelson Mandela has raised 1,9 million rand, or about $130.000, at an auction with proceeds going to fund the Liliesleaf Museum Heritage Site, a project documenting the struggle for democracy in South Africa.
The organization received the original order in 2004 as part of a private donation. The document has been digitized and the auction took place through the Momint marketplace.
Last year Liliesleaf Museum Heritage Site raised $50.000 in another NFT auction. On that occasion, a “pen gun” belonging to freedom fighter Oliver Tambo was auctioned off. This type of auction allows the museum to offset the losses caused by the lack of tourism during the COVID-19 years.
Nelson Mandela a historical figure
Before becoming South Africa's first black president, Nelson Mandela was a member of the African National Congress (ANC), rising from youth leader in Johannesburg to national president.
The ANC's aim was to fight white supremacy and apartheid. However, following the riots of 1960, the ANC created an armed paramilitary wing, which led to a warrant being issued for Mandela's arrest for treason and rioting. In 1961, a warrant was issued for Mandela's arrest, and he was arrested later that year, released, and arrested again in 1962.
Nelson Mandela spent the next 27 years in prison, until his release in 1990, shortly before becoming the nation's president.
Nelson Mandela's other NFTs
A collection, called My Robben Island, consisting of a series of five watercolor paintings and a handwritten letter, was Sold as NFT by British auction house Bonhams, through the Nifty Gateway marketplace on March 9.
The collection of watercolours was painted in 2002 as part of an art therapy and is a series of snapshots of his life in prison. For example, in one of the paintings, called The Cell, we can see the inside of the cell where Mandela spent 18 of the 27 years he was in prison. Over the years, Mandela's cell became a place of pilgrimage, to which Personalities such as Bill Clinton and Barack Obama attended.
Makaziwe Mandela, the daughter of the former president, said that her father's watercolours represent the "triumph of the human spirit", as her father spent many years locked away in a grey place, from which he thought he would never leave (he was sentenced to life imprisonment), but his paintings show that he never lost hope.
On the other hand, the collection was completed with the letter The Motivation, in which explains what his life was like on Robben IslandIn it, Mandela tells that despite being a terrible place, a bright future emerged from that prison.
Speaking about the sale of this collection, Makaziwe Mandela said that her father had a dream of creating a more accessible society for everyone and that NFTs can help “democratize” art. Finally, the former president's daughter wishes that part of the money raised will be used to finance the garden that is being built in Qunu, the president's burial place.
