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Item Ref# FS3140
Thomas Francois Burgers
This bronze cast of President Thomas Francois Burgers is very scarce.
President Burgers (15 April 1834 to 9 December 1881) was the 4th president of the Zuid Afrikaansche Republiek (ZAR) from 1871 to 1877.
The reason for the making of this plaque is assumed to be on occasion for his visit to Europe in 1873/4. The president was there to purchase arms and strengthen diplomatic bonds. While in Europe he did receive a couple of gifts, such as Katarina Van Rees' composition "De Transvaalsche Volkslied".This plaque may well have been one such a gift to Burgers.
Below his image is a palm frond, a symbol of peace, prosperity and conquest.
Burgers was not President for long, nor was he very popular, therefore items bearing his image are rare and extremely unlikely to have been made by the Transvaalers. |
Only the Ashes of Our Fires Were Surrounded
At 12 o'clock we saddled. We were going to try to pass through the enemy's line. On we rode, silently and guided by the sentinels' fires, we knew exactly which spots to avoid. Every moment brought us nearer to our doom or deliverance. "Shall we succeed or not?" we anxiously asked ourselves. Unnoticed we passed the foe and were free once more.
The next morning only the ashes of our fires were surrounded. As a shower of rain had fallen the same night, wiping out the footprints of our horses, the British certainly wondered what became of us. The Boers had again disappeared so mysteriously.
Pieter Hendrik Kritzinger, Boer General
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All the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of his possessions was his own, but they shared everything they had. Acts 4:32 |