Kester

Kester may refer to:

Kester (name)

Kester is both a surname and a given name. Notable people with the name include:

Surname:

Given name:

Throne of Weapons

The Throne of Weapons is a sculpture created by Cristóvão Canhavato out of disused weapons. It has been owned by the British Museum since 2002. It has been called the Museum's most "eloquent object" and it may have been shown in a wider variety of ways than any other object.

Description

The sculpture was created by a sculptor who was born Cristóvão Estavão Canhavato in Zavala in southern Mozambique. Canhavato works under the name of Kester as part of a co-operative called Associação Núcleo de Arte. Kester was born in 1966 and his artistic education took place at the artist's collective—although he already had a knowledge of engineering construction. The artists collective was supported by Christian Aid and another Christian group led by Bishop Dinis Sengulane as part of an organisation called "Transformacao de Armas em Enxadas" or "Transforming Arms into Tools".

The throne has been signed by the artist, but as the curators have noted, the throne has also been "signed" by termites who have traditionally damaged African wooden sculptures. Kester, the artist, points out the smiling faces that he has included in his work even though his relatives were injured by weapons like these. At the top of the right hand rifle butt is a human face, but the face was only "found" by the artist. The holes and marks are the remains of where a strap had been attached when it was carried by its owner. The symbol Kester created was the gothic shape at the back which is intended to symbolise a church.