Modern Turquoise Cat Alebrije Sculpture, "Turquoise Cat"

In this slightly more modern interpretation of traditional alebrije folk art, a stretching turquoise cat is covered with stripes, dots and spirals. Artisans Pablo and Lucy Mendez of Oaxaca carve the sculpture by hand from copal wood and paint it in meticulous detail. Small parts are separated for shipping to protect from breakage.

The folk art tradition of alebrijes dates back to the 1930's in Mexico City. A man named Pedro Linares was taken ill, and in his fevered dreams he saw a strange land populated with curious creatures--a donkey with wings, a rooster with bull's horns, and a lion with the head of a dog. The beasts all ran at him, shouting "alebrije! alebrije!". Upon his recovery, Linares began recreating the fantastical creatures he had seen in his dream. The art form gained popularity, and alebrijes are now made of wood as well as papier mache.