PRODUCT INFORMATION
General Description
Leopard rock 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. Brand new items suitable for any retail space looking for something different.Verdite is a light to dark green Serpentine-like mineral dating back 3500 million years ago. This beautiful green stone of Africa is also known as Bud Stone or African Jade. Verdite is the term used for a Fuchsite based rock discovered in South Africa. It is related with Serpentine from the eastern part of Zimbabwe and South Africa. The material has been given various common names over the past few decades and has been commonly used in Zimbabwe Shona carvings for many decades. The colours of the green are variable across pieces, with often swirling or banded complex patterns due to the colour intensity changes across pieces. Fairly soft and simple to carve.
Zimbabwe has a long history of stone carving traditions dating back many centuries. In most recent decades this unique craft moved towards focusing on animals, and other items suitable for the tourism market in the region. Only a handful of more modern contemporary works of art are found generally outside of the country. Unfortunately, due to the extensive economic hardships the region has faced over the past two decades due to bad governance, the stone working and carving skills are not being transferred to the younger generations. Carving or "Art" as a form of income is not well perceived by the younger generations.
Toprock has, over the past few years attempted to create a market for the uniquely hand carved stone works of art coming out of the region. These are all polished by hand and / or using simple technologies. The carvings can be interpreted as simplistic when compared to the digital accuracy of Chinese carvings systems for example. Nonetheless, we have encouraged a wide range of items to be manufactured in hope of keeping the century old traditions going. Items often produced include but are not limited to the following: Various animals, pumpkins, mushrooms, dinosaurs of various species, ashtrays, dishes, and other regional oddities. Please support our efforts to keep the local Zimbabwean artists in business. The following materials are most used for carvings; Lepidolite, Verdite, Leopard Stone, Butter Jade and other soapstone’s.
Price is grade dependant. Items are as show.
Product Data
Locality = ZimbabweGrade = Very Good to A Grade
Size = 151 - 154 mm | 5.9 - 6.1 inch
Net Weight = 2.9 Kg | 6.4 Lbs
Product Type = Small Batch
Weight = 2.9 kg
SKU =
A118970OWL*
Currently 1 in stock.
Please Note: The product title specifies the exact number of pieces included for the listed product price e.g. x 12, x 1, x 35 etc. The vast majority of our products are individually graded batches or single pieces which are priced accordingly. Therefore, if we state “Currently 1 in stock” this means we have 1 batch and/or 1 piece available as per the number of pieces indicated in the product title.
- Gallery
- Description
PRODUCT INFORMATION
General Description
Leopard rock 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. Brand new items suitable for any retail space looking for something different.Verdite is a light to dark green Serpentine-like mineral dating back 3500 million years ago. This beautiful green stone of Africa is also known as Bud Stone or African Jade. Verdite is the term used for a Fuchsite based rock discovered in South Africa. It is related with Serpentine from the eastern part of Zimbabwe and South Africa. The material has been given various common names over the past few decades and has been commonly used in Zimbabwe Shona carvings for many decades. The colours of the green are variable across pieces, with often swirling or banded complex patterns due to the colour intensity changes across pieces. Fairly soft and simple to carve.
Zimbabwe has a long history of stone carving traditions dating back many centuries. In most recent decades this unique craft moved towards focusing on animals, and other items suitable for the tourism market in the region. Only a handful of more modern contemporary works of art are found generally outside of the country. Unfortunately, due to the extensive economic hardships the region has faced over the past two decades due to bad governance, the stone working and carving skills are not being transferred to the younger generations. Carving or "Art" as a form of income is not well perceived by the younger generations.
Toprock has, over the past few years attempted to create a market for the uniquely hand carved stone works of art coming out of the region. These are all polished by hand and / or using simple technologies. The carvings can be interpreted as simplistic when compared to the digital accuracy of Chinese carvings systems for example. Nonetheless, we have encouraged a wide range of items to be manufactured in hope of keeping the century old traditions going. Items often produced include but are not limited to the following: Various animals, pumpkins, mushrooms, dinosaurs of various species, ashtrays, dishes, and other regional oddities. Please support our efforts to keep the local Zimbabwean artists in business. The following materials are most used for carvings; Lepidolite, Verdite, Leopard Stone, Butter Jade and other soapstone’s.
Price is grade dependant. Items are as show.
Product Data
Locality = ZimbabweGrade = Very Good to A Grade
Size = 151 - 154 mm | 5.9 - 6.1 inch
Net Weight = 2.9 Kg | 6.4 Lbs
Product Type = Small Batch