One of a Kind

Indoor or Outdoor

Hover to zoom Hippos, a smiling large and small hippo carved from serpentine stone in Zimbabwe by Shona artist Rose Chakanyuka

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Zimbabwe, Southern Africa · Rose Chakanyuka

Hippos

Piece #H001 · Year Made: 2002

$85

Each hippo sold individually

Shipping individually quoted

Origin

Zimbabwe, Southern Africa

Period

21st Century

Medium

Hand Carved Serpentine Stone

Length

4"

Width

2"

Height

2"

Details & Materials

"Hippos" is one of our best sellers and a favorite for gifting. Each hippo smiles whimsically, an ironic play on the animal's actual temperament, and they look their best in a group, nesting into one another.

Rose Chakanyuka remains one of the few women sculpting in Zimbabwe today, and these are her work from start to finish: natural serpentine stone shaped entirely with hand tools, free of any dyes, stains or varnishes. Every hippo comes from a different cut of the stone, so no two carry the same color.

The large measures 8 inches long and 3 inches tall; the small, 4 inches long and 2 inches tall.

Condition: Excellent, not previously owned, undamaged
Sourcing: Fair Trade
Certificate of Authenticity: Available Upon Request
Provenance Report: Available Upon Request

Shipping

Buy now and leave the shipping to us. At checkout you pay for the piece plus a shipping deposit. We then plan the packing for your piece and email you the remaining shipping balance. This applies to both domestic and international orders. Every shipment is tracked, and most deliveries need a signature.

Domestic: 5-8 business days
International: 10-14 business days
White-glove delivery available on request

Care & Placement

Dust with a soft, dry cloth.

Can be placed indoors or outdoors; weather will not damage it. Place on a solid, level surface or pedestal

Authenticity guaranteed, every piece verified

Packed and shipped by our team, insured and tracked

New York City gallery, est. 1983

Origin

Zimbabwe

Southern Africa

"When I was first exposed to African art, I felt a deep connection to it. It is hard to explain. It resonates with me spiritually."

Michael, Founder

York's Shona Gallery was the first in New York City to bring African sculpture to American collectors. Every piece in our collection is acquired directly, ensuring authenticity and fair exchange with the artists and communities who create them.

Origin

Zimbabwe, Southern Africa

Tribe / Artist

Rose Chakanyuka

Medium

Hand Carved Serpentine Stone

About the Artist

Rose Chakanyuka

Stone Sculpture

Rose Chakanyuka was born in Zimbabwe and is a member of the current generation of Shona stone sculptors. Still, one of the few women artists currently sculpting in Zimbabwe, her natural artistic sensibilities, courage and tenacity have allowed her to add her female voice alongside that of the better known male sculptors.

She exhibited a unique talent for art at an early age and with the encouragement of her teachers, she seemed to find her calling. Soon after leaving school, she embarked on her vocation which speaks profoundly about her passion and dedication to the art form. After learning the basic techniques of stone carving, Chakanyuka continues to explore different techniques and possibilities inherent in the medium. Today, she continues to work alongside many of the major artists of the movement in Harare, the capital of Zimbabwe, which is the major center of art in the country.

She is recognized for setting the highest standards in her work. She carves her forms mainly from pure inspiration and what she derives from her Shona heritage. She brings to each work a strict professionalism and refuses to give less than all her energy to a sculpture. Each new work is regarded by her as an exercise to increase her thought process and improve upon her technique.

Drawing on her strong beliefs in family and tradition, her works clearly show the inspiration that she receives in every day life. Chakanyuka’s works are soft, sensitive, family forms; and she is among the best of those interpreting this genre. While this form of abstraction is shared by other Shona sculptures, the style and emotional component of Chakanyuka’s works make them distinctly her own. Choosing to work mainly with hard stone such as spring stone, her themes of family tenderness, love, and unity are portrayed with tenderness and understanding.

View all pieces by Rose Chakanyuka

The Tradition

Shona Stone Sculpture

Shona sculpture is stone sculpture carved by hand in Zimbabwe, named after the Shona, the largest group of people in the country. The finest pieces keep the weight and stillness of the rock, while the figure within seems to rise out of it.

The sculptors work with the stone rather than against it, letting its shape, grain and color suggest what lies inside. Every piece is carved by hand. Many carvers leave part of the stone rough on purpose, so the raw rock sits right next to the polished surface.

Common subjects are the family, mothers and children, animals, and people turning into animals or spirits. Forms are simplified into symbols drawn from the beliefs and folklore of the Shona people, so a piece suggests its subject rather than copying it.

Working in stone runs deep in Zimbabwe. Between the 11th and 15th centuries, the ancestors of the Shona built a city of huge stone walls and towers, fitted so carefully that no cement was needed. They also carved tall birds from stone, and one of them is now on the country's flag. Zimbabwe takes its name from that city: in the Shona language, Zimbabwe means "house of stone."

The modern movement began in Harare in the late 1950s, when a new generation of sculptors joined this ancient skill with a modern, spiritual expression. Their work soon won international fame. In 1968, the Museum of Modern Art in New York City sent it on tour across the United States, and in 1971, the Musée Rodin in Paris gave it a major exhibition. London, Stockholm and the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew followed.

Today Shona sculpture is recognized around the world as a major contemporary art movement. Newsweek called it "perhaps the most important new art form to emerge from Africa this century," and its admirers have included Pablo Picasso and Henry Moore. It is held in the collections of the British Museum and the Museum of Modern Art, and pieces have set record prices at auction. Collectors have included Richard Attenborough, and Zimbabwe's government has chosen it as a gift for visiting leaders. When Harare hosted the Non-Aligned Movement summit in 1986, a sculpture by Richard Mteki was presented to India's Prime Minister, Rajiv Gandhi.

York's Shona Gallery is proud to be the first gallery to exhibit Shona sculpture in the United States. We have shown Shona sculpture in New York City since 1983.

Where: Zimbabwe
Roots: An ancient stone city, 11th to 15th centuries
Began: Late 1950s in Harare, the capital of Zimbabwe
Stone: Spring stone, serpentine, lepidolite
Subjects: Family, spirits, animals, transformation
In collections: British Museum, Museum of Modern Art
Finish: Polished by hand, often left partly raw

Why Shona?

Suitable for indoor and outdoor environments, such as a garden or terrace
Durable and will not dull or erode
One of a kind pieces
Marked with artist’s signatures
Hand carved in Zimbabwe

Polished black stone sculptures in a garden in Zimbabwe

A Shona sculptor shaping a block of stone with a hammer

A tall Shona stone sculpture of two figures standing on a lawn

The stones we carry

Spring stone

Dense and very hard, it polishes to a deep, glassy black and weathers to pale grey where it is left raw

Serpentine

The most varied of Zimbabwe's stones, from olive green and brown to pink, rust and almost black, often within a single block

Lepidolite

A softer stone in shades of lilac and violet that glints in the light, prized for its rare color

View all stone sculpture

Animals in African Art

The Significance of Animals

In African art an animal is rarely just an animal. It can stand for a king, a clan, an ancestor or a lesson, and its meaning changes from one people to the next.

Many families trace their roots to an animal. Among the Shona of Zimbabwe, every clan has its own animal, such as the lion or the elephant, and people do not eat the animal of their clan out of reverence.

Animals also carry power. In the Benin Kingdom, the king is known as the leopard of the house, and leopards were once kept at the royal palace. In Cameroon, the elephant stands for the power of chiefs. In Mali, carved antelopes celebrate farming and the people who work the land.

Animals are also used to teach lessons. In Ghana, children grow up with stories of Anansi, a clever spider whose adventures teach right from wrong.

Hundreds of years ago, carvers in Zimbabwe made tall birds out of stone. Today one of those birds is the symbol of the country and appears on its flag. Shona sculptors often carve animals, and figures that are part person and part animal.

Stands for: Power, family, and a good harvest
Teaches: Right from wrong
Seen in: Masks, brass figures, stone and wood sculpture

Ancient rock engravings of giraffes and a human figure

Two people walking toward a herd of elephants

A black panther resting on a tree branch

Animal symbols

Nigeria

Leopard

A symbol of the king

Cameroon

Elephant

A symbol of power

Mali

Antelope

A symbol of farming and a good harvest

Zimbabwe

Lion

A family symbol for many Shona clans

Hippos

Zimbabwe

Rose Chakanyuka

Surfaces

Pedestal

Styled with and outdoors

Rooms

Shona Stone Sculpture

The Significance of Animals

Hippos

Zimbabwe

Rose Chakanyuka

Surfaces

Pedestal

Styled with and outdoors

Rooms

Shona Stone Sculpture

The Significance of Animals

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