Artisan Crafted Green Wood Elephant Alebrije Figurine, "Elephant in Green"

Wood carvers in San Martín Tilcajete, Oaxaca, crafted animal figurines for generations before the area's alebrije tradition took hold, mostly as children's toys. It's the gorgeous way even real animals are decorated that shows how the Oaxacan artisans have truly embraced the handicraft style. This hand carved copal wood elephant from Jesus and Roxana Hernandez is hand painted in green, with elaborate geometric motifs on its legs and ears in black combined with lovely purple, pink, and blue tones.

It is said that Oaxaca's alebrije tradition descends directly from Mexico City artisan Pedro Linares (1906-1992). When he was 30, he became seriously ill and fell into a sort of coma. While he was unconscious, he had a most fantastic dream. 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 creatures repeatedly uttered the word alebrije, and when Linares woke up, he recreated these figures in vivid colors using papier mache techniques and called them alebrijes. His work became famous and eventually influenced artisans in the state of Oaxaca who decided to craft alebrijes using traditional wood carving methods and according to that region's world vision.