Zimbabwe is dismantling the one hundred years old railway track solid teak
sleepers and replacing them with concrete. The sleepers are cut up and
made into furniture; you can find it at several shops in Harare (we found
the ones at Sam Levy's village and at Ballantyne Park the best, they will
also make items to order) but avoid Savanna Woods in Vic Falls as it is
considerably more expensive.
03 August 1999
02 August 1999
3. - 2 AUG: Harare
Full day in Harare, dedicated mostly to exploring the work of Shona sculpture artists.
We went to Zim especially for Shona sculptures and thoroughly searched the place. Matombo Gallery on L.Takawira Avenue is the best place for quality sculptures, but expensive, and manager Roy Cook, who will gladly devote you his time to explain about Shona sculptures, does not like bargaining, so be prepared to pay for what you get... and more! Be sure to visit also their sculpture garden on the airport road, it holds some masterpieces by "first generation" artists which are not found elsewhere.
The National Gallery is the only other serious alternative, but the selection is poorer. Matombo (which means ROCK in shona) also has a good shop in Vic Falls. They will also arrange shipping at a reasonable rate. Tengenenge sculpture village has gone down in quality and is just a messy mountain of second quality stuff, though occasionally good artists emerge from the lot. Average pieces can be found at many other shops, so if you are not fussy about a specific artist or school do look around. Street markets are mostly for cheap souvenirs, not art.
We went to Zim especially for Shona sculptures and thoroughly searched the place. Matombo Gallery on L.Takawira Avenue is the best place for quality sculptures, but expensive, and manager Roy Cook, who will gladly devote you his time to explain about Shona sculptures, does not like bargaining, so be prepared to pay for what you get... and more! Be sure to visit also their sculpture garden on the airport road, it holds some masterpieces by "first generation" artists which are not found elsewhere.
The National Gallery is the only other serious alternative, but the selection is poorer. Matombo (which means ROCK in shona) also has a good shop in Vic Falls. They will also arrange shipping at a reasonable rate. Tengenenge sculpture village has gone down in quality and is just a messy mountain of second quality stuff, though occasionally good artists emerge from the lot. Average pieces can be found at many other shops, so if you are not fussy about a specific artist or school do look around. Street markets are mostly for cheap souvenirs, not art.
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