AFRICAN BEAUTY in Butter Jade 

H17in x W15in x D9in 42lbs

Butter Jade, which only comes from Birchenough Bridge in Manicaland on Zimbabawe’s eastern border with Mozambique, is Farai’s favorite stone. Cream colored with dark striations and passages of gray-green, the stone is very hard and challenging to carve, over six on Mohr’s scale of hardness.

Every square inch of the surface is lovingly worked. Every stone that Farai uses to create his sculptures is investigated early in the process to find the “quietest” part of the stone to position the face. He is a master of texture . . . hair, fabric, necklaces, and earrings are all given loving treatment to provide visual variation and differentiation from the skin of the head, neck, and shoulders. The special skills of a true artisan.

Farai's innate skill to make stone come alive is certainly manifested here. The tilt of the head, the complexity of the hair and the sumptuousness of her body are touches wrestled from the stone by a true master.

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