Page 42 - Zimbabwe Stone Sculpure 1st Edition

4The stone
BUTTER JADE 40
The stone used by the artists makes a big difference to the character and look of the sculpture they create and it is true that certain artists prefer particular stone because it works well with the imagery they like to express.
Butter Jade is a creamy white stone and although it is called Jade it is, in fact, a sedimentary rock and quite hard. The greenish layers sometimes seen in the stone are layers containing fossilized algae. It is a stone that is used often by artists such as Cosmos Kamhiriri and Zachariah Njobo. It is found in Chipinge, in the southern part of the Eastern Highlands of Zimbabwe.
Cobalt Stone is a purple serpentine stone with characteristic yellow, brown and green markings. It is found in Chiweshe, a rural area north of Harare.
Leopard Stone is a type of serpentine stone with a base greenish colour with beautiful black and yellow spots, hence the name. It has inclusions of the mineral Olivine, which is also a greenish colour. The main source of the stone is Nyanga in the Eastern Highlands of Zimbabwe.
COBALT STONE LEOPARD STONE