This bookend set, taking the shape of a drinking giraffe, is a graceful example of the functional designs of the Shona sculptors of Zimbabwe. The giraffe itself is languid and graceful, its anatomy stylized into curving forms of legs and necks. These long parts of the giraffe have been carved completely free of the surrounding stone, demonstrating the artist's skill in careful and intentional stone carving. The gray-green opal serpentine stone out of which the giraffe is carved is polished to a glistening surface, revealing a full display the color and texture of the material.

Unknown Shona artist
'Giraffe Bookends,' late 20th century
gray-green opal stone (serpentine)
6.5 x 10.25 x 2.75 inches (overall); 6 x 6.5 x 2.75 inches (front); 4.25 x 6.25 x 2.75 inches (back)
Numbered 43 on each base

Good overall condition; some scattered minor scratches