{"product_id":"carved-wood-ancestral-tree-of-life-sculpture-trade","title":"Carved Wood Ancestral Tree of Life Sculpture (Trade)","description":"\u003cp\u003eFigures like these don't stand alone, they hold each other up, literally. Carved from a single length of wood, this vertical composition stacks human figures shoulder to shoulder and knee to shoulder, arms interlocking down the full height of the piece, a composition rooted in the Ujamaa, or Tree of Life, carving tradition of the Makonde people of Tanzania and Mozambique, where the design reads as extended family, generation supporting generation, quite literally holding one another up. Run a hand along the carving and you can feel where the tool left its mark, rounded shoulders, cupped hands, faces simplified just enough to read as expression rather than portrait.\u003cbr\u003eAt just under three feet tall on its custom iron stand, it doesn't need a pedestal or a corner of its own to work, a console table, a bookshelf end, the foot of a staircase where the light catches its silhouette from across a room. Pieces built around a single idea, repeated and varied down the length of the wood, are the ones that photograph as sculpture rather than souvenir. This is one of them.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e*Era: Vintage\u003cbr\u003e*Dimension:11” x 6” x 32.5\"(H) — width\/depth not provided, please confirm\u003cbr\u003e*Material: Carved wood, on custom iron stand\u003cbr\u003e*Finish: Natural wood tone, hand-tool carved surface\u003cbr\u003e*Condition: Wear consistent with age \u0026amp; use, blemishes and imperfections will be present. These are not to be considered defects but rather part of its character \u0026amp; historical value. Carving intact with no visible losses; iron base stable and secure.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eA vertical wood sculpture carved in the Ujamaa, or Tree of Life, tradition of the Makonde people of Tanzania and Mozambique, its interlocking human figures representing family and generational continuity, mounted on a custom iron stand. At roughly 32.5 inches tall, it works as a sculptural floor or tabletop accent.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eWhat does the carving represent?\u003c\/strong\u003e The design belongs to the Ujamaa, or Tree of Life, tradition developed by Makonde carvers in southeastern Tanzania and northern Mozambique beginning in the mid-20th century. Ujamaa is Kiswahili for togetherness and family, and the interlocking figures, each supporting the one above and below, read as generations of a family literally holding each other up, the same word Kwanzaa uses for its cooperative-economics principle.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eHow is it made?\u003c\/strong\u003e Carved from a single continuous length of wood rather than assembled from separate pieces, with each figure's limbs and torso worked directly into the next so the whole column reads as one continuous form. It's presented here on a custom iron stand rather than a wood base, which keeps the carved silhouette the focus.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e(Requires White Glove Delivery)\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan class=\"s1\"\u003e**Please bear in mind that colors of products shown may vary slightly from their original color due to monitor display settings or photography studio.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"DE-COR | Globally Inspired","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50661906776301,"sku":"IMG_7661","price":825.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0288\/5256\/files\/IMG_7661_1ca9b887-fe6e-4844-986e-93e80ca2c672.jpg?v=1789060717","url":"https:\/\/de-cor.com\/products\/carved-wood-ancestral-tree-of-life-sculpture-trade","provider":"DE-COR | Globally Inspired","version":"1.0","type":"link"}