About the stone

Zimbabwe is fortunate to have access to a very special type of stone. Stones used in Zimbabwean sculpture are locally sourced and belong to the geological family “Serpentine”. They are sedimentary, having originally been laid down on a sandy seafloor. Intense heat and pressure over hundreds of millions of years has transformed them into hard stone. Serious sculptors prefer the hardest varieties of serpentine such as springstone, fruit serpentine and leopard rock. These dense stones have extremely fine grains and uniform structure. Although found in several areas, springstone is mined in Guruve, by hand. It is a dark stone, and due to its density, can be polished up to a high shine.

Zimbabwe has a unique supply of such stones. They occur as part of the Great Dyke, a horseshoe-shaped geological formation stretching through the north and east round to the centre of the country. The natural weathering processes are now exposing the rocks at the surface. Colours range from yellow and green, through brown to black. Some of the stones may reveal some “impurities”when the raw material is revealing the work of art it was hiding inside. This only makes every piece unique. Some stones are so multicolored that this may result in a very rare and unique piece of art.