Javett Art Centre

The Javett Centre opened in 2019 at the University of Pretoria, in a building that literally bridges Lynnwood Road - a gallery block on each side joined by a span over the traffic, which was designed to connect the campus to the city rather than sit inside it. The collections cover African art broadly, the Javett family's South African holdings, and rotating contemporary exhibitions. The reason to go, though, is downstairs: a secure gallery holds the gold objects excavated at Mapungubwe in 1933, including the small gold-foil rhinoceros that has become the emblem of that kingdom and of the national order named for it. Those objects sat in university storage for decades because they contradicted the official account of southern Africa's past; displaying them properly, on the same campus, is part of the centre's stated purpose. The rhino is smaller than photographs suggest and worth the trip anyway.

What you actually see

• The Mapungubwe gold - the 1933 grave objects including the gold-foil rhinoceros.
• The bridge building - galleries on both sides of a road, joined by a span over it.
• The African collections - broad holdings alongside rotating contemporary shows.
• The restitution thread - objects moved from storage into proper public display.

When to go

All year. Two to three hours. Closed Mondays; check university holiday hours.

Honest expectations

The gold gallery is small and access is controlled - it is a vault, not a hall. Parking on campus is awkward. Hours follow university terms and change. The rhino is a few centimetres long and people expect something larger.

Nearby

The Union Buildings are north-west; Pretoria's botanical garden is east.