This sculpture has come a long way. Made from springstone, a dark, hard, black serpentine which is part of a seam of sedimentary rock forming the horse-shoe shaped geological formation in Zimbabwe known as The Great Dyke, the raw stone is hewn by hand in large chunks before being transported to Harare for sculpting. Richard Mupumha Junior from Chitungwiza sculpts along with his two brothers Onias and Itayi. Their creative ideas are usually established in their minds before they start, inspired by nature, folklore and tradition, but they adapt their visions to fit with the shapes of stones which ‘speak’ to them. Aside from the initial sculpting and shaping with hand tools, the polished finish on each piece is a laborious process of heat, sandpaper, oil and wax. By the time it is finished, each sculpture is literally a labour of love. Pieces destined to be shipped overseas have to be packed perfectly and crated for shipping. It is many months before they are finally catalogued and displayed in all their African splendour in our English garden or against the backdrop of the Chiltern Hills. Customers make their choice and finally take home their purchase once our exhibition is over. Little wonder this beautiful piece collected last week is called “I Will Wait”.
“I Will Wait”
