Golden Rhinoceros of Mapungubwe

{{Short description|Medieval artifact from the Kingdom of Mapungubwe}}

{{Infobox artifact

| name = Golden Rhinoceros of Mapungubwe

| image = 270px

| image2 =

| image_caption = Golden Rhinoceros of Mapungubwe

| material = Gold

| size =

| writing =

| created = Kingdom of Mapungubwe (1075–1220)

|discovered_date = 1932

|discovered_place = Kingdom of Mapungubwe (in Mapungubwe National Park, Limpopo, South Africa)

| location = Mapungubwe Collection, University of Pretoria Museums

}}

The golden rhinoceros of Mapungubwe is a medieval artifact, made from wood which is covered in thin sheets of gold, from the ancient Kingdom of Mapungubwe, which is located in modern-day South Africa. It was found on a royal grave on Mapungubwe Hill in 1932{{cite journal|last1=Steyn|first1=Maryna|title=The Mapungubwe Gold Graves Revisited|journal=The South African Archaeological Bulletin|date=1 December 2007|volume=62|issue=186|pages=140–146|jstor=20474969}}{{cite book|last1=Gardner|first1=Guy A.|title=Mapungubwe, Ancient Bantu Civilization on the Limpopo: Reports on excavations at Mapungubwe (Northern Transvaal) from February 1933 to June 1935, edited by Leo Fouché.|date=1937|publisher=Cambridge University Press|location=Cambridge}}{{cite journal|last1=Duffey|first1=Alex|title=Mapungubwe: Interpretation of the Gold Content of the Original Gold Burial M1, A620|journal=Journal of African Archaeology |date=2012|volume=10 |issue=2 |pages=175–187 |doi=10.3213/2191-5784-10223 |hdl=2263/42472 |url=http://www.repository.up.ac.za/handle/2263/42472|hdl-access=free }} by archaeologists from the University of Pretoria. The artifact is described as being "small enough to stand in the palm of your hand."{{cite web|last1=Smith|first1=David|title=British Museum may seek loan of the golden rhinoceros of Mapungubwe|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/aug/17/british-museum-may-seek-loan-of-the-golden-rhinoceros-of-mapungubwe|website=The Guardian|date=17 August 2015 |publisher=Guardian News and Media Limited|access-date=13 August 2016}}{{cite news|last1=York|first1=Geoffrey|title=The return of the Golden Rhino|url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/world/the-return-of-the-golden-rhino/article545513/?page=all|website=The Globe and Mail|date=10 February 2012 |publisher=The Globe and Mail Inc.|access-date=13 August 2016}}

From 26 October 2016 to 27 February 2017 it was on display at the British Museum as part of an exhibition celebrating the art of South Africa. {{cite web|title=South Africa -- the art of a nation|url=https://www.britishmuseum.org/about_us/past_exhibitions/2016/south_africa.aspx|website=The British Museum|publisher=The British Museum|access-date=9 January 2018}}

The site reveals the existence of a ruling elite, living separately in a hilltop settlement. This is the first known example of a class-based society in southern Africa. This artifact shows the Mapungubwe as a wealthy trading centre.{{Cite book|title=Historium|last=Nelson|first=Jo|publisher=Big Pictures Press|year=2015|location=China|pages=10}} Duffey in studying the many fragments of gold foil and the rhino, bovine and feline from noticed that the same type of images, symbols and shapes are found on the rim and base of an BaVenda divining bowl.