Every one of these ornaments was sculpted and painted by hand in South Africa, and each has a small colored ring for the ribbon. Put two side by side and you can see that the same animal never comes out the same way twice.
The Big Five and the bush
Zimele sends the animals of the bush: the lion, the leopard, the buffalo, the rhino and the elephant, and with them the king cheetah, the kudu, the bush baby, the honey badger and the meerkat. The lion was sculpted by Wandile and painted by Nokubonga, three inches tall.
Lion ornament
Zimele, 3 inches.
$99
Leopard ornament
Zimele.
$99
Buffalo ornament
Zimele.
$99
A chameleon and an elephant
At Love Art Ceramic, Nozipho and Sondelani Ntshalintshali made the chameleon, with its striped tail curled under it, and the elephant lying on its side.
Chameleon ornament
Love Art Ceramic, 4 inches.
$195
Elephant ornament
Love Art Ceramic.
$195
Birds that perch
The guinea fowl, the hoopoe, the crested barbet and the two hornbills stand on their own wire feet, so they can sit on a branch instead of hanging from it. Guinea fowl are endemic to Africa and among the oldest of the ground birds.
Guinea fowl ornament
Pascoe Gallery.
$49
Hoopoe ornament
Pascoe Gallery.
$49
Crested barbet ornament
Pascoe Gallery.
$49
And the butterflies
The butterflies from Love Art Ceramic are each painted differently: orange with black and white edges, red and black, blue, lilac, green and yellow.
