small wooden crosses

Cream arabesques swirl across crimson silk in a glorious design from Melati's Collection. Created in batik, the motifs cover a feminine fan.

The silk on the fan is only a small part of a larger textile with a complete motif. Thus motifs and color could vary slightly.

Ferns flourish in a forest of deep burgundy silk. Created in batik, the motifs cover a feminine fan from Melati's Collection.

The silk on the fan is only a small part of a larger textile with a complete motif. Thus patterns and color could vary slightly.

Red ferns flourish in a forest of golden silk. Created in batik, the motifs cover a feminine fan from Melati's Collection.

The silk on the fan is only a small part of a larger textile with a complete motif. Thus patterns and color could vary slightly.

Alebrijes are often a hybrid of real animals, such as elephants and crocodiles, or they can be more fantastical creatures, such as dragons. Artisan Teresita Gonzalez of Xoxocotlan in the Mexican state of Oaxaca creates an elaborately hand carved copal wood alebrije dragonfly, or libelula. The insect is beautifully painted in bold red with accents of black, blue and yellow. Small parts are separated for shipping to protect from breakage.

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 beings 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.