Shona Stone Tiny Hippo Sculpture

* Natural stone sculpture of mini rhino. * 2" length, 1.5" width, 1.5" height. * Made from naturally occuring brown and gray serpentine stone. * Each sculpture may vary slightly. * Handcarved by the Shona stone carving tribe artisans in Zimbabwe. ------------------------- Shona are an ethnic tribe from Zimbabwe. Ancestors of Shona are known to have built stone cities in Southern Africa over a thousand years ago. The Great Zimbabwe Settlement is a sixty-acre site that was constructed between the 11th and 15th centuries from carved stone and housed up to 18000 people. This site is a great example of the skill and innovation of the Shona people. Shona people consider their relationship with stone and ground as spiritual and cultural. This association prevented them from exporting or showcasing the Shona skill as an artistic art. The modern Shona art movement now provides us a glimpse of their beautiful art and to hold their skillfully carved pieces. Our Shona art is hand carved from serpentine stone. Serpentine stone has a wide variety of colors, from deep green-blacks to orange. Serpentine stone is abundantly available in Zimbabwe and making it an ideal source for Shona art. Local artists mine from small opencast quarries. This mining creates low ecological impact and provides an important source of income for the Shona community and also to keep the art thriving.