"Masaai People" is a study in contrast. The tall, slender figures are carved from the dark heart of the ebony, and each stands on a base of the pale outer sapwood from the same raw piece, so the figure and the ground beneath it come from one wood.
The piece is by the esteemed artist Nelson, famous for his painstaking level of detail. Nelson hails from Kenya and was raised in the Masaai tribe. Among Masaai carvers he is known as a man of relentless will who goes to agonizing lengths for perfection, and he chooses ebony precisely because it challenges him.
