Caring for the Zimbabwe Shona Sculptures

For general polishing, apply a little wax polish (the artists use white floor wax), leave for a while and then shine with a clean, dry cloth.

To fix scratches, the artists follow these steps:

1. sand paper the area with very fine sand paper
2. heat the area
3. apply a little wax polish with paintbrush
4. the heated stone absorbs polish into that area

I have found, through much trial and error, that Johnson's paste wax works wonders on the pieces to shine them up if they get dull and to fix any minor scratches. Normally I don't heat the pieces, but occasionally I'll stick them in the oven at about 200 degrees for a few minutes, and then proceed with waxing them. For dark pieces i recommend black shoe polish, and you can heat just the specific area with a lighter or oil burner for minor scratches then apply the polish.