Patient Woman
Artwell Mchimika Chipiri

Fruit Serpentine

80cm (h)
28cm (w)
41cm (d)

£1,100

In Zimbabwean culture, a young woman must behave with respect and deference in her husband's household. She kneels to serve food to her male in-laws and then to her female in-laws.

Many sculptors have produced their personal variation on the theme of a subservient woman, because it both idealises Shona cultural values and celebrates women in the prime of their beauty.

Fruit serpentine is the local name given to this very colourful and slightly translucent type of serpentine. It needs to be well-lit to bring out all the colour and detail in the stone.