Zimbabwe stone sculpture first began to emerge in the early sixties. Artists and small workshops of artists were encouraged by the then director of the National Art Gallery in Zimbabwe.

The critics were amazed at how the indigenous people took to this art form and by the themes and ideas that inspired each piece.

The sculptors soon discovered the wealth of the stones to be found in Zimbabwe's Great Dyke and moved onto harder, more difficult but more beautiful material.
Out of these beginnings have risen some of the most famous names in African art history such as Nicholas Mukomberanwa, Henry Munyaradzi, Joram Mariga and many more. We are now coming up into the second and even third generation of artists from this era, and with this we see more than ever the great diversity of impressions and materials used.

"ROCK USED BY THE SCULPTORS".

In describing the rocks used by the sculptors it must be pointed out that some of the names given are local names which do not feature in any book on petrography and while other terms are generally known the scientific meaning does not always tie up with the local meaning.I have described them in the way the artists describe them.

SERPENTINE
Serpentine is found in many deposits throughout Zimbabwe. Its colours vary from brown to black to green and variegated. .
Most sculptors select the harder more durable serpentines for sculpting.

SPRINGSTONE
Springstone is a very hard serpentine with high iron content and a fine texture. It has no cleavages, is hard and firm and offers a good resistance to the sculptor. Springstone has a rich outer "blanket" of reddish brown oxidised rock. The rocks themselves emerge from the quarry like sculptures formed by nature over millions of years and are often a source of inspiration to the artist.

OPALSTONE
Opalstone is a light-greenish serpentine.It is a beautiful hard, finely textured stone with an almost translucent surface sometimes specked with red, orange and blueish dots and patches.It was discovered as recently as 1989 in the Chiweshe area of Zimbabwe.

LEOPARD ROCK
Leopard rock is a hard yellow/green serpentine characterized by black blotches.

LEPIDOLITE
Lepidolite is a translucent medium hard mauve stone. It polishes well.

COBOLT
Cobolt is the name given to a serpentine variety that can have different colours and is found near Guruve (at a distance of 30 to 40 km from the Great Dyke)and in other places.

GOLDEN SERPENTINE
Golden serpentine is a rare black serpentine with bands which mimic the structure of wood.

VERDITE
Verdite occurs in a variety of changing patterns and shades ranging from golden browns to rich emerald greens and blues.It is only found in Southern Africa and the Zimbabwean deposit is of uniquely high quality.Zimbabwean verdite contains corundum and is considered to be a semi-precious stone and therefore besides being beautiful also has an intrinsic value.

STEATITE
Beautiful red, green, brown,orange and pink steatites are found on the Great Dyke in the Masano deposit at Tengenenge. Steatites are softer than serpentines and not often used for art works.

MARBLE
Zimbabwe has vast deposits of grey ,white and varigated marbles.

LIMESTONE
Close to the capital city is a hard finely grained grey limestone deposit.

DOLOMITE
There are many deposits of dolmite in the country.It is often used for bigger pieces.It is hard, white with a crystalline appearance.