SHONA ART

Shona Stone sculpture derives its name from the name of the tribe in Zimbabwe to which most of the artisans that craft the sculptures belong. The Shona tribe make up about 80% of the Zimbabwe population while the Ndebele population is about 14% of the population.

The remaining 6% consist of whites and other races from other countries especially Malawi and Zambians who went to Zimbabwe as migrant workers especially during the era of the federation of Northern Rhodesia(now named Zambia), Southern Rhodesia (now named Zimbabwe) and Nyasaland (now named Malawi). It is therefore not accurate to say only members of the Shona tribe make Shona art.

Many types of stones are used to carve the Shona stone sculptures and these include soapstone, serpentine, springstone, semi-precious verdite, opal, butterjade, dolomite, leopard rock, cobalt etc. To be accurate, there is no stone type called Shona stone. The first people that introduced this artform to the western world called it Shona stone and the name stuck, During the course of my business I have run into situations where I am pointing out the stone type of a particular sculpture such as butter jade or serpentine and the customer then remarks that they thought it was Shona stone!