Hand-Painted Wood Alebrije Canine Sculpture from Mexico, "Strong Canine"

Hand-carved of copal wood, this strong canine will bring the beauty of Mexican folk art to your home. Eugenia and Roberto Sosa create this sculpture, painting the dog by hand with varied and vibrant designs, such as spirals, geometric motifs, and checks in the traditional style of alebrijes.

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.