The Importance of Stone Sculpture

Carving stone into sculpture is an activity older than civilization itself. Prehistoric sculptures were usually human forms, such as the Venus of Willendorf and the faceless statues of the Cycladic cultures of ancient Greece. Later cultures devised animal, human-animal and abstract forms in stone. 

The Venus of Willendorf

The process begins with the selection of a stone for carving. Some artists use the stone itself as inspiration; the renaissance artist Michelangelo claimed that his job was to free the human form trapped inside the block. Other artists begin with a form already in mind and find a stone to complement their vision. When the artist is ready to carve, they usually begin by knocking off large portions of unwanted stone. This is the "roughing out" stage of the sculpting process. Once the general shape of the statue has been determined, the sculptor uses other tools to refine the figure.

Eventually the sculptor has changed the stone from a rough block into the general shape of the finished statue.  

Sculpture from Zimbabwe already counts amongst the most important new art movements of the latter part of this century. This is confirmed not only by reputable art critics like Michael Shepherd of the (London) Sunday Telegraph and important museums, such as the Museum of Modern Art in New York or the Musée George Pompidou in Paris that have opened their doors to it but also by renowned art collectors like Prince Charles, the Rockefellers or the Rothschilds and during his life time even Pablo Picasso. All of them enriched their collections with Shona sculpture.

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College of the Desert, Lot 3/Space #126A, Palm Desert 

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