Signed African Hand Carved and Painted Wood Lion Sculpture. Fanciful designs along the body, signature on underside. M. Gaiti is a Kenyan artist known for his hand-carved and painted soapstone and wood sculptures, often featuring African animals, cultural themes, and contemporary art creations.

Size: 7 1/4 x 2 1/2 x 5 in. 

Hand carved and painted wood animals from Kenya are some of the most highly sought-after crafts in East Africa. Wood carving provides tribal artisans with a sustainable source of income, and continues a tradition that goes back thousands of years among the Kamba and Mukamba people. They believe God, who they call Ngai, imparts shape to all living things, and the act of carving and painting wildlife, flora, and symbolist works is seen by the Kamba people as one of the greatest ways to honor Ngai’s and their creative efforts. It is mainly men who do the carving, but in the late 20th Century women began to take up the profession as well, as gender norms shifted due to exposure to other cultures and ways of life. The skill and craftsmanship of the artisans can be seen in the smooth finish, natural grain, and carved details, with different families adding their own unique touches to differentiate themselves. One of the most common and prized carvings is known as “The Big Five,” because it incorporates (often in a stacked totem-like arrangement) all the main animals that African culture has depended on since antiquity: the lion, the leopard, the elephant, the buffalo, and the rhino. In the 21st Century, the rhinoceros and elephant have emerged as the most popular forms, as artists desperately strive to preserve images of these large herbivores that are facing extinction due to poaching and mankind’s encroachment.