oaxacan art animals

Artisans Jesus and Roxana Hernandez of Mexico hand-paint this charming hummingbird alebrije ornament sky blue with red details on the tail and multicolor designs on the body. Hanging from a yellow ribbon, the bird is crafted from copal wood. Small parts are separated for shipping to protect from breakage.

The alebrije tradition started with Mexico City papier mache artisan Pedro Linares (1906-1992). When he was 30, he fell into a coma due to serious illness. While he was unconscious, he dreamed he was caught between the land of the living and the dead; the place looked like a forest and was populated with creatures with body parts belonging to different animals. The beings repeatedly uttered the word alebrije. Upon recovering, Linares recreated these figures in bright colors using papier mache techniques and called them alebrijes. His work became famous and was one of the main influences of artisans in the state of Oaxaca who began crafting alebrijes of their own using traditional wood carving methods.

With discipline and long practice, artisans Jesus and Roxana Hernandez have mastered the unique folk art form known as alebrijes. Here they craft a magnificent hummingbird from copal wood and paint it in brilliant shades of lime green, fuchsia, red, and orange. Each feather and wing is meticulously detailed on this admirable sculpture. Small parts are separated for shipping to protect from breakage.

Alebrijes are a fairly recent Mexican art form, attributed to Pedro Linares. Unconscious due to illness in 1936, he was presumed near death and yet his dreams were extremely vivid. He tells of a place where all was peaceful and quiet until all of a sudden there appeared a lion with an eagle's head, a rooster with bull's horns and a donkey with butterfly wings. They kept screeching "alebrije, alebrije!" and Pedro began running away. He encountered a man who told him it was not yet his time to be there are and he should continue running towards the exit. In this dream Pedro climbed out of a window and regained consciousness.

Beautifully carved and painted by hand, this fun set of four ornaments is from Esteban Hernandez in Mexico. The artisan works in the style of alebrijes, a popular Oaxacan folk art form. Each of the four small fish ornaments is painted in a different colour scheme.