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Museum object · Photographs and Still Images

Triptych of Pamela Bridgewater and Nelson Mandela

1995

Chatsworth, KwaZulu/Natal, South Africa, Africa

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Source catalog description

This description refers to material held by Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture. Visual details below describe the original material.

A framed triptych of color photographs of then Consul General at Durban Pamela E. Bridgewater and South African President Nelson Mandela shaking hands and embracing at the World Hindu Conference in Chatsworth, South Africa. In both the left and right most photograph, Bridgewater and Mandela grasp each other’s proper right hands, while looking and smiling at one another, and Bridgewater places her proper left hand on Mandela’s shoulder. In the center photograph, the handshake continues while the two lean forward to embrace each other. In all three, a young woman from Durban is partially visible in the background. The three photographs (a, b, c) are set into a double-paneled red and white mat board (d) within a brown and gold wood and metal frame (e).

Sources & collection details

Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture — original record ↗

Source collection ↗

Catalog metadata · CC0 · Source checked 2026-10-13

Catalog reference: 2023.51.2a-e

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