Skip to main content
Want more images or videos?
Request additional images or videos from the seller
1 of 3

Samson Nyakanhongo
'Waiting For Advisor' African (Shona)

2001

About the Item

Comes with mounting 8-1/4"x 6-3/4"x 4" African Shona Shona artists and crafts people have been working in different media for generations. These include paintings, pottery, basket ware, wood carvings, and sculpture done in metal as well as the stone carvings. While there is not a long standing tradition of sculpture in what is now Zimbabwe (formerly Southern Rhodesia), stone carvings dating from the 15th century were seen in Great Zimbabwe, an excavated temple near Bulawayo. Most of the artifacts from this location have been moved to museums in Cape Town, South Africa or London. It is generally agreed that Zimbabwean stone sculpture as seen today began during the late colonial period of the 1950's and 1960's. During this period the artists and artisans depicted many of the traditional Shona and other tribal spiritual myths. Out of all the nations in Africa, the large varieties and abundant supplies of rock formations present throughout the Zimbabwe landscape provide artists with a medium for sculpture and carvings unique to their country. The Shona art sculpture of Zimbabwe combines the wonderful varieties presented by the stone with images drawn both from reality and abstract symbolism. Much of the stone used by Shona artists is quarried in areas which are adjacent or quite near the villages where the work is created. Often the land on which the stone is found is owned by the village or the local artists. The artists use stone such as Serpentine (somewhat old, having been formed about 2.6 billion years ago), with more than 200 color variations. The hardest and darkest of the Serpentine varieties is black, commonly known as Springstone or Africa stone. Less seen is Lepidolite, with its beautiful pale mauve coloration; and the very hard Verdite, found mostly in darker shades of green but with other variations as well. Commonly referred to as Rapoko stone in Zimbabwe, Steatite is a natural soft stone that falls under the general category of soapstone. Rapoko is found on every continent in the world with the possible exception of Antarctica. Its remarkable qualities have made this stone one of the most widely used minerals on earth. Over 10 million years old, Rapoko is a natural mineral, prized since ancient times for its durability, workability, beautiful character and ability to retain and radiate heat and resist chemicals. Native cultures, the world over, have carved Rapoko/Steatite into vessels, art objects, memorial and cultural items. Carved items have been found in the tombs of Pharaohs, in the igloos of the far north, in temples and palaces of China and India, in the mountains and river valleys of the Americas and the arid plains of Africa. There is a man made ceramic product, also called Steatite, which uses the natural Rapoko stone as one of its raw materials but has no other connection to the skillful efforts of talented Shona and other African artists. The wonderful natural character of stone is used both in its rough cut and textured state, or heated and burnished to a high gloss to reveal rich greens, browns, blacks and grays. The hardness, shape, density and quantity used of serpentine, verdite, sandstone, granite, steatite and other stones define the ultimate presentation of completed Shona art sculptures and carvings.
  • Creator:
    Samson Nyakanhongo
  • Creation Year:
    2001
  • Dimensions:
    Height: 8 in (20.32 cm)Width: 6 in (15.24 cm)Depth: 4 in (10.16 cm)
  • Medium:
  • Period:
  • Condition:
  • Gallery Location:
    Milwaukee, WI
  • Reference Number:
    Seller: 10972g1stDibs: LU605311076212
More From This SellerView All
You May Also Like
  • Antique 19th century Bronze Dog Portrait of a Maltese on a Marble Base
    Located in SANTA FE, NM
    Antique Bronze Dog Portrait of a Maltese on a Marble Base French 19th century 1/2 x 8 x 5 1/2 inches The chiseled bronze has a nuanced, rich brown patina depicting a Maltese in the round, seated on a quadrangular marble base decorated with very fine gilt bronze flowers and fluted feet. Napoleon III, Louis XVI style. Based on a model by Jacques Caffieri for the Prince de Condé in 1773. (More images to be added.) Executed during the nineteenth century, this figure is fully in line with the eclectic taste of the reign of Napoleon III. Indeed, the Empress Eugenie brought the Louis XVI style up to date in her castle of Compiègne. Jacques Caffieri is one of the most famous bronze smiths of the eighteenth century. In 1715 he was admitted as a master caster and chiseler, and worked almost exclusively for the crown castles...
    Category

    19th Century Rococo Figurative Sculptures

    Materials

    Marble, Bronze

  • Fat Gun
    By Vincent Du Bois
    Located in Miami, FL
    Coming from a family with a long artistic tradition. Vincent Du Bois accomplished to synthesize both classical background and comtemporary vision. From...
    Category

    2010s Contemporary Figurative Sculptures

    Materials

    Marble

  • Antique Pair of Russian Wolf Hound/Borzoi Dog Portrait Sculptures circa 1930's
    Located in SANTA FE, NM
    Antique Pair of Russian Wolfhounds/Borzois Dog Portrait Sculptures by Scalini (aka Scali; Italian, 20th century) circa 1930's Patinated spelter 9 x 14 inches (on bases) Though rath...
    Category

    1920s Art Deco Figurative Sculptures

    Materials

    Cast Stone, Bronze

  • Lucien Charles E. Alliot French Art Deco Bronze The Gazelles 1930
    By Lucien Alliot
    Located in Oakland, CA
    Lucien Alliot French Art Deco Bronze The Gazelles 1930. The brown patina on a marble base signed on the bronze L Alliot and stamped bronze on the deer. This particular piece has exceptional rhythm where the two gazelles interplay in a movement depicting leaping over the hills or water—a very three-dimensional treatment showing the movement of the animals. Lucien Charles Eduoard Alliot (1877-1967), the sculptor, was born in 1877 Paris, France. His work was part of the sculpture event in the art competition at the 1924 Summer Olympics. He exhibited regularly at the Salon des Artistes Français, was a member and the gold medal in 1920, out of competition, and was a member of the sculpture jury from 1934 to 1939. Alliot was well known for his figurative sculptures, exhibited at the Salon de Paris for many years. He received a third-place award in 1907 (which included funds for travel expenses) and a first-place award l in 1920. After he declared himself out of the artistic competition, he became a jury member at the Salon evaluating sculptural works from 1934 to 1939. Alliot created several allegorical groups, La Paix in 1939, and several religious illustrations: Sacré Cœur in 1924, La Vierge Marie...
    Category

    1930s Art Deco Figurative Sculptures

    Materials

    Marble, Bronze

  • Silvered Bronze Art Deco Statue by Aurore Onu "Chasing the Hind"
    Located in Oakland, CA
    Silvered Bronze Art Deco Statue Pair featuring a woman reaching and grasping the antlers of a deer, a rare version of “Chasing the Hind” Designe...
    Category

    1930s Art Deco Figurative Sculptures

    Materials

    Marble, Bronze

  • "Cleo" Contemporary, Ceramic, Mixed Media, Sculpture, Marble Base, Brass Rod
    By Lindsay Pichaske
    Located in St. Louis, MO
    Since graduating from the University of Colorado in 2010, Pichaske has risen to attention in the art world. She was an assistant to artist Cristina Cordova, and has been an Artist in...
    Category

    2010s Contemporary Figurative Sculptures

    Materials

    Marble, Brass

Recently Viewed

View All