David Sibanda
1956 – | South Africa
David Sibanda was born in Buffelspruit, in what is now the Northwest Province, on the 20th of December, 1956, the second of 5 boys and 3 girls.
It was at the Edward Primary School where David was first exposed to art. Students were encouraged to carve in wood and David found his calling in carvings of humans and bowls. By 1986, David’s reputation had been growing and he was invited, by Krall Kraft, to move to White River, Mpumalanga and teach carving to young, aspiring sculptors.
He found a suitable plot in Letlhabile, near Brits in the North West Province, where he finally put his gifts to work. It was there that he created the Sibanda Arts and Crafts Centre where David had the opportunity to teach others in the community and to work with them. Some of the artwork produced by David includes the Big Five portraits and carvings of various other animals.
Work
Featured Work
LION & LIONESS (PAIR)
1990
Dimensions: 42 x 20 x 19 cm | 14 Kg
Art code: 838
Carved from Verdite Stone.
David Sibanda’s description of the artwork
I made this pair in 1990, when I had a limited amount of really great Verdite stone to work with, so this is a rare pair of animals balanced in their proportions and shape. A pair of lions like this are a husband and wife couple, although the male may have more wives, this female is definitely his favourite.
Lion & Lioness
The most impressive of Africa’s species, the lion is a creature of great power and the most respected animal in Africa. The male lion is recognised as the King of Africa.
Lions are the only ‘social’ cats, where related female lions live together and form groups called ‘prides’. Lion prides are family groups with all of the females related, mothers and daughters, sisters and cousins.
The lion exists in prides with a strong social bonding and team spirit that ensures their success in hunting and survival as a family.
VERDITE – The Green Stone Of Africa (Mohs 7 – 8.5).
Verdite, a semi-precious stone over 3,500 million years old is a challenging medium for sculptors and master craftsmen. It is also known as ‘Africa’s Green Gold’, and is highly sought after by artists. Only the most experience sculptor will dare sculpt this hard stone. It rates between 7.0 – 8.5 (depending on the amount of Corundum inclusions) on the universally used Mohs Hardness Scale.
Ancient African tribesmen crafted Verdite into jewellery, and witchdoctors made a preparation from the powdered stone, which they believed increased fertility. Rare and beautiful, it occurs in a variety of changing patterns and shades ranging from golden browns to rich emerald greens to blues. It is found only in Southern Africa and Zimbabwe, is of high quality and sought after by international art collectors and investors who have been quick to recognise it’s rarity and intrinsic value. As Verdite is a stone of beauty which is fast becoming difficult to find, carvings from this stone will become increasingly more valuable as time goes on and is therefore, a genuine investment.
This sculpture comes with a Certificate of Authenticity and Provenance.
This was purchased personally by Paul Gunner from David Sibanda in 1990 and has been in his possession ever since.