cat statues

An orchid cat smiles with satisfaction. It's a wonderful day! Purring with happiness, she invites the viewer to smile with her. Noi paints charming naïf portraits of animals that convey their personalities and state of mind.

Thai artisan Sarote Lochotinunt crafts a pendant necklace that is sure to please the cat lover in your life. Tail curled to indicate a state of repose, the cat's silhouette calls to mind an elusive shadow. The brushed sterling silver pendant centers a Venetian box chain.

"Look what I caught!" this cat seems to say. The playful feline is sculpted from copal wood, the classic for alebrije figures which are famous in the Central Valleys of the Mexican state of Oaxaca. This kitty with bristling natural fiber whiskers is the work of Gerardo and Teresa Ojeda, noted carvers in the region.

Braiding black leather, Roy Nilson crafts a bracelet for men that recalls the art and beliefs of the ancient Aztecs. A finely-crafted skull glares from within the jaws of a jaguar to centre the design. All young Mexica, or Aztec men, at the age of 14, were required to learn about weaponry and the art of war in special schools. Elite Aztec warriors wore headdresses denoting their honoured status in this case, as a jaguar and warrior, or knight.

The jaguar skull serves as the bracelet's button clasp.

In Balinese, Catur Muka means "four faces," and evokes the four-faced statues found throughout the island. Wayan Rendah creates this sculpture, hand-carved from suar wood to depict four faces around its exterior, each of which displays a different emotion.

Angel Cerón finds inspiration in the art and beliefs of the Olmeca people to replicate the sculpture of a jaguar holding a man standing on his head. "The original sculpture is from the middle pre-classic period of 1200-400 B.C. and was found in San Lorenzo Tenochtitlán, Veracruz," explains the master ceramist. "The ancient Olmeca believed they were descendants of the union between a jaguar and a woman. The actual myth seems to have been lost in time, though many of their celebrations and artistry make reference to the jaguar, especially portraying people with feline facial characteristics including fangs. There used to be a considerable jaguar population in the same region where the Olmeca culture developed, so they regarded the feline as having some connection with their origin. They also believed it to represent both the world of th living, and the underworld," continues Cerón, who crafts the sculpture with yellow clay from the state of Oaxaca creating low and high relief accents and gives it an antiqued finish.