Stone Sculpture

Birdwoods is New Zealand’s leading importer of stone sculpture from Southern Africa, including the internationally renowned Shona sculpture. Zimbabwe means "great stone house" so it is fitting that stone sculpture (also referred to as Shona sculpture) is the art form that most represents the people of Zimbabwe.

Shona sculpture has become the singular most collected form of African art internationally and is in the collections of the Museum of Modern Art in New York and the Rodin Museum, and the homes of the Rockefellers, the Prince of Wales and Sir Richard Attenborough. Zimbabwean stone sculpture, despite the country’s political and social and instability, remains a truly contemporary force, combining successfully with an ancient cultural heritage. With each piece hand carved using only a hammer, chisel, file, water and sandpaper, the Shona’s beautiful stone sculpture is powerfully human and imbued with intense spirituality.