A Very Large Shona sculpture from Zimbabwe of a Shona chief hand carved from a beautiful piece of Verdite! Notice the detail in the facial expression.. Signed by artist Tendai Chiweshe. Verdite is a semi precious stone and this weighs 16.11 lbs. This piece captures in stone the artists vision of "The Shona Chief". Traditionally, Shona peoples lived in dispersed settlements, usually consisting of one or more elder men and their extended families. Most decisions were made within the family, although organized political states were recognized as a source of centralized power. They were headed by a paramount chief who inherited his position and power in the divine manner of a king. He usually resided in a centralized location and was accompanied by his court who advised him about most important decisions. The head chief often received substantial payment in the form of tributes from his constituency. Gallery retail on this would be over $1800. Verdite, also known as "Africa's Green Gold", is highly sought after by artists. Only the more experienced sculptor will dare sculpt from this hard stone. Verdite rates between a 7.0-9.0, depending on the amount of Corrundum inclusions, on the universally used Mohs hardness scale. Verdites color is unique in that it boasts an Emerald looking quality with beautiful brown and green striations. Unfortunately, verdite is fast becoming rare and is difficult to find. Carvings from this stone will become increasingly more valuable. Read more about Shona sculpture below and how it is unique to Zimbabwe. Thanks for looking and helping to support the artists. Weighs 16.11 lbs. Height 14 x 6 width x 6 inches deep. Contact us for discounted international shipping!

 

Shona Art

From Wikipedia:

 

Shona art is contemporary stone sculpture from Zimbabwe. African stone sculpture is not traditional, although much of its subject matter has traditional roots. The art movement began around 1956 and was initiated by Frank McEwen who at the time was the Director of The National Gallery of Rhodesia.

During its early years of growth, it was described as an art renaissance, an art phenomenon and a miracle. Critics and collectors could not understand how an art genre had developed with such vigour, spontaneity and originality in an area of Africa which had none of the great sculptural heritage of West Africa and had previously been described in terms of the visual arts as artistically barren.

Fifteen years of sanctions against the country obscured works from the Western world (apart from highly acclaimed exhibitions organised by Frank Mc Ewen in major museums such as Musee dArt Moderne, Paris; Musee Rodin, Paris; and the Institute of Contemporary Art, London). Yet these years also witnessed the honing of technical skills, the deepening of expressive power, the use of harder and different stones and the creation of many outstanding works.

Since independence in 1980, the sculpture has been exhibited in the art capitals of the world and great acclaim has been accrued to the artists and the art form.

In spite of the increasing demand, as yet little commercialisation has occurred. The most dedicated of artists display a high degree of integrity, never copying and still working entirely by hand, with spontaneity and a confidence in their skills, unrestricted by tedious drawings or measuring.

The sculpture speaks of fundamental human experiences - experiences such as grief, elation, humour, anxiety and spiritual search - and has always managed to communicate these in a profoundly simple and direct way that is both rare and extremely refreshing. The artist 'works' together with his stone and it is believed that 'nothing which exists naturally is inanimate'- it has a spirit and life of its own. One is always aware of the stone's contribution in the finished sculpture and it is indeed fortunate that in Zimbabwe a magnificent range of stones are available from which to choose - hard black springstone, richly coloured serpentine and steatites, firm grey limestone and semi-precious Verdite and Lepidolite