Hand Carved Lignum Vitae Rasta Head - Jamaican Ironwood by George “Jago”McIntosh

Rasta Carving
Artist: George “Jago” McIntosh
Place of Origin: Negril, Jamaica
Medium: Lignum Vitae aka Jamaican Ironwood
Signed : “G. McInT Negril JWI”

Hand carved in Jamaica between 2000-2004 from the rare Lignum Vitae wood. The National Wood of Jamaica, aka Jamaican Ironwood, is prized for its strength and ability to withstand water for decades. George McIntosh was a highly skilled artist based in Negril who only carved Ironwood. I would sit and talk with him in his yard while he worked on his pieces, sharpening his tools every 20 minutes as they wore down quickly from one of the densest woods on earth.

Protected by the Jamaican government as an endangered species, it is illegal to cut down living Lignum Vitae trees. So we would pay a landowner to haul away their dead Lignum trees that were still as hard as the day they died, and dig up the roots and use the entire tree.