11.1/4"H x 9.3/4"W x 3.5"D - 6 lbs. FREE SHIPPING ANYWHERE IN THE CONTINENTAL USA. For local pickup, enter discount code “P” for reduced price.
This beautiful pair of giraffes was sculpted by hand from a single piece of serpentine stone, in Zimbabwe, by Loid Ngwaru. The white lines and base are the unpolished parts of the stone, and the brown is polished using only floor wax. The sculpture is first shaped, using a combination of chisels, rasps (files), and sometimes a grinder. At that point, the stone is just a greyish/whitish color. Once shaped, the sculpture will still be rough because of the rasp’s rough teeth, so the next stage is sanding to get the texture smooth. Each grit of sandpaper, from the roughest to the finest, is used until the stone is super smooth. The piece is then washed, heated with a fire, or blow torch, and then, when hot, the floor wax is applied, usually with a brush. Since the stone is hot, the wax melts into the stone, and then when it cools down, the polished area is buffed out with a cloth. At this point the giraffes will be completely darkened from the polish. The artist then takes a sharp metal tool and etches the pattern out of the polished area (essentially scratching away the polish where he wants the pattern). The base was not polished so only whatever wax that melted down from the feet is just etched away to clean it up. The same goes for the tree, left unpolished, just gets cleaned up at the end of the process.
Because each piece is created by hand, and the coloration in each stone is different, the sculpture you are looking at is exactly the one you will receive. Please keep in mind that because these are natural stones, there are always flaws and imperfections. We have taken the clearest photos possible to show everything, but we believe that is also the beauty of these sculptures, that they were not produced in a factory, but rather by actual people, using natural stones quarried in the hills and mountains of Zimbabwe.