Frog

Todays featured sculpture

Frog by Fungai Mwarowa



Weight: 4kg
Genre: Animals
Stone type: Lepidolite

Sculptor Information

Fungai Mwarowa was born in 1964 and has been sculpting since the mid eighties. Initially he began as an assistant to Joram Mariga and from 1988 he pursued his own work. Encouraged by Mariga to work from harder varieties of stone, Mwarowa sculpts from Leopard Rock and Lepidolite.

The inspirations for his pieces, which usually take a week or more to complete, come from traditional Shona beliefs. In some work, however, Mwarowa tries to incorporate ideas from Western culture. For example, of his piece, Monkey (1994 Springstone) he says, “Traditionally, we have always lived in round huts, not straight houses like that in Western culture. We have always had this shape in our country, but I was trying to put Western shape in this piece”.

For the future: “I want to be a leading sculptor… Mr. Mariga taught me about the hard stone. I like his work because he is the one who inspires people to try their talents”.

We made a big sale of seven yesterday and have to say goodbye to our beautiful sculptures. They will be in a beautiful home and garden. Here they are:



Name: Kneeling

Artist: Daniel Baradza

Stone: Springstone



Name: Watching

Artist: Bevan Katutwa

Stone: Springstone



Name: Sleeping Beauty

Artist: Gregory Mutasa

Stone: Springstone




Name: Mother and Child playing

Artist: Cassion Munhumdarima

Stone: Springstone



Name: African Queen

Artist: Lovemore Bonjisi

Stone: Springstone



Name: Rainbird

Artist: Hillary Nkanjo

Stone: Springstone



Name: Resting Bird

Artist: Bevin Chikodzi

Stone: Opaline

Stone type: Dolomite

DOLOMITE:

Dolomite or Magnesian limestone, consists mostly of the mineral Dolomite. 

 Most Dolomites are secondary rocks, 

probably formed when water, containing magnesium, seeped through layers of limestone, 

replacing the calcite with dolomite.  Recrystallization probably destroyed most of the fossils.

The texture of Dolomite is very variable and the beds are often thick and highly jointed.  

 This white, cream or grey rock weathers to brown or pink.

Fish Eagles Catch

Todays featured sculpture

Fish Eagles Catch by Euwitt Nyanhongo



Ref no: 299
Weight: 45kg
Genre: Birds
Stone type: Springstone

Sculptor Information

Euwitt Nyanhongo was born in 1973 in the Nyanga district of Zimbabwe. Euwitt is one of the sons of Veteran Zimbabwean sculptor, Claud Nyanhongo. He has a brother called Gedion and a sister called Agnes, both of whom are also very prominent sculptors.
Born into an artistic family, Euwitt began sculpting at an early age. During school holidays he often assisted his father in finishing off pieces. At school he excelled in art. Under the guidance of Claud, Gedion and Agnes, Euwitt began sculpting full time in 1993. He is the family’s youngest upcoming artist.
Euwitt prefers to work from the hard Springstone and Nyanga Serpentine found in the area where he was raised. He believes that his inspiration is derived from the Nyanga mountains and it is these ‘’spiritual rocks’’ that provide him with vision – so he often spends time working in the mountains.
His work portrays his human affinity with nature, animals, spirits and mythological beliefs of the Shona Tribe. In the last two years, Euwitt has created some larger pieces of sculpture in addition to his small to medium sculptures. He has gained much recognition and has been invited to join an annual residency sculptor programme for young upcoming sculptors.

Leaning

Todays featured sculpture

Leaning by Mike Sullyari



Ref no: 1903
Weight: 17kg
Genre: Abstract
Stone Type: Springstone

Sculptor Information

We apologise, the artist has not furnished us with a biography.

Protected By Bird Spirit

Todays featured sculpture

Large Thinking by Mike Sullyari



Ref no: 1562
 Weight: 89kg
Genre: Spiritual
Stone Type: Opaline

Sculptor Information

Obert Mukumbi was born on the 11th of January 1974 in Mashonaland central Bindura Indengu Village. He grew up and attended school in the same area.
Soon after school Obert came to Harare where he joined his brother Kennedy Musekina who was a well-known artist. He natured Obert from the basics up to where Obert stated mastering his own stone sculptures.
Obert went to different schools for him to gain much more experience in stone sculpting. Young Africa, National Gallery of Zimbabwe, Badzimba and Chikumbamarara School of art.
Obert’s work concentrates on things that he archived on day-by-day life. Working on hard stones such as Springstone, Opal, Cobalt, Fruit Serpentine, etc.
Exhibits: Holland, Venezuela, USA, Portland. He wishes many more years to exhibit quality work.

Henry Munyaradzi - what an exceptional artist.

Henry was born in Guruvu in 1931. His father, a spirit medium, left the family when Henry was one year old and never returned. His uncle brought up Henry in rural surroundings and Henry did not go to school. After serving as the village blacksmith, he worked on tobacco farms as a carpenter and tobacco grader.

The 10th September 1967 marked a milestone in Henry’s life – one day he remembers vividly. Out of work, he was walking through the hills of the Great dyke of Zimbabwe when he heard the tapping of tools against stone. On investigation, he found men forming images from raw rock.

He had stumbled upon the Tengenenge Sculpture Community where he was welcomed by Tom Blomefield and began to sculpt. He soon became one of the most significant members of this group and since his first exhibition at the National Gallery in 1968; he has taken part in many other exhibitions both locally and internationally. Henry became known as Henry of Tengenenge.

Henry has become one of the world’s most widely known artists and his sculpture has been recognised with acclaim throughout the world. Following a very successful one-man exhibition in London in 1984, he was able to purchase his own farm.

Henry has also participated in almost all group exhibitions around the world. Michael Shepherd, a respected London critic wrote, “Michelangelo’s spiritual ideal of the individual form waiting to be released from the individual stone is even more apparent here than in Michelangelo’s own marbles”.

Sadly Henry passed away on 27 February 1998.



We have three sculptures carved by Henry in our gallery.

   

Large Thinking

Todays featured sculpture

Large Thinking by Mike Sullyari



Ref no: 1880
Weight: 60kg
Genre: Abstract
Stone Type: Springstone

Sculptor Information

We apologise, the artist has not furnished us with a biography.

Resting Bird

Todays featured sculpture

Resting Bird by Bevin Chikodzi



Ref no: 1908
Weight: 17kg
Genre: Birds
Stone type: Opaline

Sculptor Information

Bevin Chikodzi was born in 1966 in Mrewa, Zimbabwe and was part of the Shona Tribe. He was the eldest of seven children. Bevin married a childhood sweetheart. Bevin past away in October 2006.Bevin completed his primary school at Mrewa and secondary education at Seke I. Whilst at school, he excelled in art and craft. From 1988 to 1989, Bevin worked with Mr Mudhokjwani, a local sculptor, in Seke. After gaining some valuable experience, Chikodzi decided to work on his own.Bevin lived in Chitungwiza and was a sculptor full time. He had a personal style, which tends to be semi-abstract or abstract. Bevin’s sculpture portrays human emotions and relationships.Golden Serpentine, a rare hard stone found in Zimbabwe was very much favoured by Bevin who enjoyed all the beautiful colours emerging from the stone once polished. He also worked in black and brown Serpentine.Bevin had a quiet, gentle nature and a very good sense of humour. He was well liked and respected amongst his community.The artist worked together with his stone and it is believed that “nothing which exists naturally is inanimate” – it has a spirit and life of it’s 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.

Kneeling

Todays featured sculpture

Kneeling by Daniel Baradza



Reference: 793
Weight: 29kg
Genre: Female
Stone type: Springstone

Sculptor Information

Daniel Baradza was born in 1973 and grew up in Mutare. After leaving school in 1990 he worked as a spray painter. In 1994 he started carving under the instruction of Joe Mutasa.
In 1995 he started carving torsos to date carves large abstract works, then in 1996 he was included in an international exhibition, which was held in Belgium. The exhibition was called 21 Internationale Kunsi-En Antiekbeurs Knokke ’96. Amongst the artists included were Brighton Sango, Gladman Zinyeka and Sylvester Mubayi.
Daniel was included in another major international exhibition in Belgium in 1997, called Monumental Sculptures du Zimbabwe, Zimbabwean Sculptures ’97.
Most of Daniel’s pieces are in private and public places in Europe and America.
His ambition is to hold a one-man exhibition in Zimbabwe and abroad.
During his free time he enjoys reading books, soccer and television.

Where does stone come from?

Majority of the stones used to carve originates from the Eastern Highlands commonly know as ‘Nyanga serpentine’ or The Great Dyke, a volcanic ridge running for 1300 kilometres across the centre of the country in the direction south west to north east. It is the longest linear mass of volcanic rock in the world.  For millions of years heat and pressure concentrated on this ancient rock mass have created a unique mineral fusions, which can now be seen in all the different colours, shadings and combinations of hard and soft stones.

Sculptors in Zimbabwe carve a variety of stone from the hardest springstone to the softest of soapstone. The stone range includes verdite, many types of serpentine, opaline, dolomite, leopard rock, various steatite and soap stones. This gives the artists a large range of textures and colours to choose and work from. The stone colours are formed by trace elements and minerals included in the molten stone million of years ago. The main inclusions are chrome, copper and ruby corundum all form part of magic and mystique of this magnificent, exquisite contemporary art form. 

Serpentine and springstone are the stones preferred by the artists. They have a wide range of hardness and colour. The colour or combination of colours has left the artists with over 200 different colour stone variations from which to carve. Verdite an ancient brilliant green semi-precious stone is over 3.6 billion years old. Verdite can be an extremely hard stone as it may have areas where ruby corundum the second hardest stone on earth is included. Zimbabwean verdite commonly known as ruby verdite is unique to Zimbabwe because of these ruby corundum inclusions. The only other deposit of verdite is found in South Africa.

Majority of the time, the artists due to their ability to read the stone do not mark or draw on the stone surface but follow the stones natural form and contours when sculpting. The stone itself dictates to the artist the subject hidden within it. Once the hammering and chiselling is completed the artists then starts to smooth the nearly completed rough sculpture’s surface with various diamond studded and high carbon steel files to achieve a finer smoother finished surface. The next step, the sculpture is honed (polished) using various grades of wet/dry water paper. The last grade to be used being either a 1200 or a1500 grit. This will give a very fine smooth surface ready to absorb the final clear waxing process.  The sculpture is then placed near a fire (or similar artificial method of heating can be used) and heated before applying coats of beeswax or clear wax polish to draw out the colours of the stone. The sculpture is then left to cool down and only once the sculpture is cold can the final shining process be completed. Stone being a natural product will absorb wax readily.

Soapstone
Soapstone is a natural soft stone, with a ‘soapy’ texture when wet. Although somewhat soft, soap stone is a very dense stone, denser than marble, slate, limestone and even granite, making it naturally waterproof - liquid spilled onto the stone’s surface is not absorbed. Soap-stone is found on every continent and has been used by a countries native people for thousands of years – pieces of soap stone have been found in igloos in the Arctic, tombs of Pharaohs, Chinese and Indian palaces and the mountains and valleys of Africa.

Sapolite
An opaque milky-white serpentine, medium-hard stone (Moh rating 4) easy to carve and yet rarely used by artists.

Opalstone (Opaline)
A harder stone (4-5 on the Moh scale), Opalstone is known for its extremely close grain texture. The colour green is predominate, from milky light coloured green with orangey iron deposits, browns, fire-reds, blacks, sometimes mottled or specked with red, orange and bluish dots or patches. A favourite stone with carvers, Opalstone is not as hard as Springstone and some serpentines and can be rather brittle, will polished to a high gloss finish.

Springstone (black iron serpentine)
Springstone the hardest stone generally carved (5-6 on the Moh scale), Springstone a very fine grained hard stone that polishes to an amazing black lustrous finish that resembles black opal - not surprisingly it’s extremely fine finish and excellent durability is highly sought after. A regular feature if this black stone is to have a layer of chrome ore running through the sculpture. This vein of ore is extremely hard and during the polishing of the sculpture the softer stone adjacent to the vein wears away faster than the chrome vein leaving the vein standing out proud. A further feature of springstone is it maybe covered with a thick layer of reddish/brown material. This is the oxidization of the iron in the stone. Many of the artists use this additional feature of the stone to give a sculpture a two tone effect. This ferrous oxide is softer than the heart of the stone.

Leopard Rock

It is similar to serpentine; having a creamy yellow colour with black blotches.  The only known deposit of Leopard Rock is in Zimbabwe. It is very difficult stone to carve only skilled sculptors will attempt this rock. Leopard Rock when polished has a beautiful glazed finish.

 Pyrophyllite
Pyrophyllite is commonly known as “Wonderstone”.  Is grey colour from deposits found in South Africa and mottled from deposits found in Namibia .Not many artists carve this medium.  It has a very fine grain construction and is measured between 2-3 on the moh scale.  The composition of the stone is compressed volcanic ash and is inert and is famous for not being a conductor of heat or electricity.
Ottosdal is the only place in South Africa where the unique “Wonderstone” pyrophyllite is mined.  The colour of the stone found there is grey.   Brandberg in Namibia is where this stone is found. The colour of the stone found there has a variety of colours due to mineral inclusions. It is extensively used in nuclear power stations and was used for making tiles for rockets re-entry shields so that rockets could re-enter into the earth atmosphere. Once this stone has been polished it has a beautiful high gloss finish and turns from grey to black with the application of wax.

Lepidolite
Lepidolite is a semi-precious stone with various shades of purple. It can be an extremely hard stone. Only skilled sculptors attempt to carve lepidolite. The stone is a quartz with lithium giving it it’s colour. It has been used as a source for the extraction of lithium.

Dolomite
Dolomite is often pink or a pinkish white but can also be white, grey or even brown or black depending on whether iron is present in the crystal.  Dolomite in it’s common form is made up of group of small rhombohedron crystals with curved saddle-like faces. Dolomite is a common sedimentary rock where Iron and Manganese deposits are sometimes present.

Ruby Verdite
Ruby Verdite is a relatively soft stone (rated 3-4 on the Moh scale) at certain places due to the ruby corundum inclusions it can be very hard. Corundum is the second hardest stone on earth behind a diamond; only the more experienced sculptor will attempt to carve this semi-precious stone. It has a unique mottled emerald green colour with brown and green striations, changing patterns with changing colours shades ranging from golden browns to rich emerald greens and blues.

Zimbabwe’s ruby verdite contains corundum and is a by-product of the extraction of the corundum mineral, corundum’s a member of the ruby family) and ruby verdite was declared a semi-precious stone by the British Geological Society back in about 1985 – so besides being beautiful it also has an intrinsic value and is becoming rarer, ruby verdite is only found in Zimbabwe where it is known as “Green Gold”. The only other known deposit of verdite in the world is found in South Africa and it does not contain corundum and therefore is not deemed to be a semi precious stone.