South African Ngoni People 16" Wood Carved Giraffe

I am getting a bit behind in my posts, as things have been a bit busy here lately. I have been off to the shops a few times and found a few fun things, so hopefully I can get caught up with my postings, so you can enjoy it all.

 The first fun and lovely piece was this 16" carved wooden giraffe marked simply, "NGONI." The Ngoni are a people of South Africa found mainly in Malawi, Mosambique, Tanzania, and Zambia, according to Wikipedia. I do not known much of anything about them, only what I have read online. If this fun giraffe is anything to go by, they have some very good woodcarvers.

 The only similar piece I could find online is this fellow, who is being sold through a fair trade company by the name of africancraftsmarket.com. Theirs they say is made of olive wood and made in Kenya, and is not marked Ngoni. I thought it interesting that the painting was similar to the one I found. These sell, depending on size and style, starting at $15, so I was really glad to get mine for just $3.99.

Not only is he bright and colorful, but I found it rather astounding that he hadn't so much a crack or a blemish. I don't know if mine is made from Olive wood, but whatever it was carved from, it is sturdy stuff. He is such a mysterious and wonderful giraffe, he has positively cast a spell upon me, so I am thinking of calling him, "Neck Romancer!" ha ha ha