carved wood sculptures

Adorned with cheerful artistry, this purple and pink snail makes its way from the magical lands of Oaxaca. "The snail symbolizes life that starts and ends in a spiral," believe Zeny and Reyna. After carving the copal wood alebrije, they use the tip of a maguey leaf to paint the florid patterns.

Small parts are separated for shipping to protect from breakage.

This purple cat is happy because spring has arrived, and the alebrije reflects the colorful feast of flowers," explain Zeny and Reyna. They use the tip of a maguey leaf to paint the patterns on this admirable hand-carved copal wood sculpture.

Small parts are separated for shipping to protect from breakage.

This spectacular wooden sculpture depicts a pair of hands holding the classic African duafe adinkra symbol, expertly hand-carved from sese wood and exquisitely hand-painted in black and purple hues. Ghanaian artisan Theophilus Anum’s remarkable design will imbue your space with both charm and cultural significance.

Colorful feathers and enchanting chants surround the forest when spring arrives. Crafted in Bali, Made Arsa's newest sculpture honors the harmonious beauty of the hummingbirds, whose presence announces days of prosperity and beauty. The artwork is made on natural benalu wood pieces to recreate a natural scene, accented by carved jempinis wood birds painted by hand.

This cool cat alebrije hand carved from copal wood is dressed to the nines with a black body hand painted with intricate designs in purple and silver. This alebrije is handcrafted by artisans Zeny and Reyna of Mexico. The cat's small parts are separated for shipping to protect from breakage.

Each alebrije is unique, as the artist works with the individual shape of each specific copal branch to determine the final design.

Arching its back in a fantastic stretch over its head, an adorable cat is carved of copal wood in this folk art alebrije figurine from Mexico. Artisan duo Zeny and Reyna create the alebrije, hand-painting the cat with intricate designs in tones of purple. 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.

Painted in stunning shades of deep lavender and honey gold, this alebrijereflects the vibrant culture of Mexico. Jesus and Roxana Hernandez craft the iguana from copal wood and decorate it with detailed designs.

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.

Purple mushrooms create an enchanted version of Bali's tropical forest. Artisan Made Arsa works on a natural gamal wood piece, adding the little mushrooms after a hand-carved work on jempinis wood.  With each piece painted by hand, Made recreates a tiny natural scene, allowing you to add magic to your spaces.