History of Shona Sculpture
Shona Sculpture is perhaps the most important art form to emerge from Africa this century. It is part of an art movement which emerged in the 1960’s and has now been hailed on the international art scene. It is sculpture of world quality by African stone carvers, extracting in the spirit of Michelangelo and Epstein. The works are awesome in their beauty and captivation in the mystery and spirituality that surrounds each creation
Shona Stone Sculpture is produced from the remarkable talent of the indigenous people of Zimbabwe. The sculpture reveals the African link with their strong mystical heritage. A host of ancestral-spirits guide and control the Shona’s daily living experience, which in turn, has great influence on the sculpture they produce. The Shona sculptors believe e that every rock contains the spirit essence and their sculptures are shaped by the will of the spirit within the rock. They believe that during the sculpting process it is the spirit, not the artist that transforms the stone.
The most commonly used material that the Shona use is Serpentine stone, which comes in a variety of colors and levels of hardness. The hardest and darkest is Black Serpentine. Other stone commonly used by the sculptors include, Opal stone, Spring stone, Sapolite and Verdite.
Verdite is the Green Stone of Africa, A semi-precious stone over 3,500,000 years old. It is a challenging medium for sculptors to work in due to the extreme hardness of the stone. The rare and beautiful verdite comes in a variety of changing patterns and shapes, ranging from golden brown to a rich emerald green and blue. In the knowledge that verdite is found only in Southern Africa and noting in particular that Zimbabwean Verdite is of unique, high-quality. It has been sought after by international artists, collectors and investors. Because there is only one known deposit in Zimbabwe and no other deposit of comparable quality anywhere else in the world, verdite has the double attraction of beauty and intrinsic value.
The Shona people believe that each work of art finds its way home to its predestined owner. We hope that you are able to make a space in your home for a small treasure from Zimbabwe and in some way, become a part of the extended shone family. So join us on this fascinating journey into the world of Shona Stone Sculpture.
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