PRODUCT INFORMATION

General Description

Leopard Stone is a hard and unusual variety of serpentine. It comes from a few small mines in Nyanga, eastern Zimbabwe, and gets its name from the black spots on a pale background. There is a sub-variety from Shamva, north of Harare, which is stronger yellow colour. This is a fairly old material which has often been used in Shona art carvings but has not been polished in a classical sense for many years. Thus is a "New" material which is back on the market! The polishing is done by expert Malagasy lapidaries in South Africa.

The original carved birds are from the ruined city of Great Zimbabwe, which was built by ancestors of the Shona, starting in the 11th century and inhabited for over 300 years. The ruins, after which modern Zimbabwe was named, cover some 730 hectares (1,800 acres) and are the largest ancient stone construction in sub-Saharan Africa. Among its notable elements are the soapstone bird sculptures, about 40 centimetres (16 inches) tall and standing on columns more than 90 cm (3 ft) tall, which were originally installed on walls and monoliths within the city. They are unique to Great Zimbabwe; nothing like them has been discovered elsewhere.

Brand new, beautiful Leopard Stone Pendants suitable for any retail space looking for something different and distinctly from Africa.!

The photographs are representative of the bulk batch being offered - variation is to be expected across individually selected batches. However, all batches within this stock item are fully sorted and selected accordingly to associated grade.

Product Data

Weight = 0.022 kg

SKU = ST00645