OLIVE WOOD
Umnquma (Ndebele); Mupfungo (Shona)
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beautiful smooth texture
Wild Olivewood (Olea Europaea
sub specie Africana) Yellowish brown
with dark brown streaks. Hard & heavy. Grain is straight to wavy,
very fine texture. This is an expensive but very beautiful wood.
Different varieties of this colorful hardwood grow throughout East and
Southern Africa. It is strong, heavy and marbled in appearance. Olive
Wood is somewhat brittle to work, but finishes well. Yellowish
brown with dark brown streaks, hard and heavy.
Native to Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Mozambique, South Africa,
Swaziland, Tanzania, Uganda, and Zimbabwe, olive wood is used to make
fine artistic carvings depicting the African way of life.
