• Barnabas Fombe verdite Shona bust of a woman with a head wrap, signed, from Zimbabwe
  • Barnabas Fombe verdite Shona bust of a woman with a head wrap, signed, from Zimbabwe
  • Barnabas Fombe verdite Shona bust of a woman with a head wrap, signed, from Zimbabwe
  • Barnabas Fombe verdite Shona bust of a woman with a head wrap, signed, from Zimbabwe
  • Barnabas Fombe verdite Shona bust of a woman with a head wrap, signed, from Zimbabwe
  • Barnabas Fombe verdite Shona bust of a woman with a head wrap, signed, from Zimbabwe
  • Barnabas Fombe verdite Shona bust of a woman with a head wrap, signed, from Zimbabwe
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The Blue Loft

Barnabas Fombe Verdite Shona Bust of a Woman with a Head Wrap

£72.00
£72.00
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A signed carving by a named artist is always a lovely thing to find, and this verdite bust is exactly that. It is the work of Barnabas Fombe, a Zimbabwean Shona sculptor who carves alongside his brothers, signed B Fombe to the base. It portrays a woman with a head wrap drawn back from her face and tied in a knot at the nape, her calm, realistic features worked with real assurance, from the softly modelled brow and lips to the smooth sweep of the wrapped head, all finished to a deep, satiny polish. It stands 10 x 7 x 5 cm, a piece to hold and turn in the hand, cool, dense and satisfyingly solid as fine carved stone should be.

Verdite is what makes this one special. Known as the green stone of Africa, it is a semi precious stone found in a single deposit in Zimbabwe, among the oldest rock on earth at well over three thousand million years and always close to gold. That rarity gives verdite carvings both their beauty and a real intrinsic value, and the deep green colour with its soft mottling takes the wonderful polish you can see across the surface here.

The Shona sculpture movement of Zimbabwe is collected around the world for its expressive treatment of the human face, and the woman with a wrapped head is a subject Barnabas Fombe returns to, so this is a characteristic signed piece within that living tradition rather than an anonymous import. The verdite carries the natural veining and gentle tonal variation you would expect of the stone, part of its character, and the bust is shown closely from every angle in the photographs.

A carving like this deserves to be seen in the round. Set it on a bookshelf, a mantel or a side table where the light can move across the polished stone, group it with books and other gathered pieces, or give it a spot of its own. It suits a modern interior and a collected, worldly one alike, adding texture, artistry and a sense of story. An original signed carving in a semi precious African stone is a rare and rewarding thing to own or to give.
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Barnabas Fombe verdite Shona bust of a woman with a head wrap, signed, from Zimbabwe
Barnabas Fombe verdite Shona bust of a woman with a head wrap, signed, from Zimbabwe
Barnabas Fombe verdite Shona bust of a woman with a head wrap, signed, from Zimbabwe
Barnabas Fombe verdite Shona bust of a woman with a head wrap, signed, from Zimbabwe
Barnabas Fombe verdite Shona bust of a woman with a head wrap, signed, from Zimbabwe
Barnabas Fombe verdite Shona bust of a woman with a head wrap, signed, from Zimbabwe
Barnabas Fombe verdite Shona bust of a woman with a head wrap, signed, from Zimbabwe