intricate carving

Awaken your inner wild child with Made Wirata's free-spirited wolf statuette, who bays at the moon. Balinese artisans hand carve the howling creature from local suar wood, engraving the sculpture with intricate, fur-like details that bring the wolf to life.

Neck arched in a menacing pose, the dragon takes form in an suar wood carving by Seji Taram. He skillfully represents each fang and claw, detailing the intricate reptilian scales. Dragons are a recurrent theme in Balinese art, revered for their divinity.

Combining intrigue and beauty, Carlos Torres carefully carves intricate floral motifs onto this realistic ceramic skull. The imagery derives from the pre-Hispanic Aztec culture and their codices, or pictographic manuscripts.

Working in the traditional style of traditional folk art alebrijes, Mexican duo Pablo and Lucy Mendez create this charming cat figurine. The cat is carved of copal wood, its black body hand-painted with intricate floral motifs and dots in fiery tones of orange.

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.

Working in the traditional style of traditional folk art alebrijes, Mexican duo Pablo and Lucy Mendez create this charming cat figurine. The cat is carved of copal wood, its black body hand-painted with intricate floral motifs and dots in fiery tones of orange.

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.

Nyoman Indrawati Subrata of the Subrata Family carves this suar wood mask of Rangda, the evil queen from Balinese version of the Ramayana. The artisan depicts her subject in intricate detail, from her terrifying facial features to the feathers of her headdress. The wood is stained to showcase the natural beauty of its grain.

The artisan carries on the extraordinary art work of her late father, Nyoman Subrata.

Rising from the depths of past legend, dragons intertwine sinuous bodies and rear on hind legs like snakes. Revered in Bali, the guardians of the gods appear in warm suar wood. Seji Taram sculpts the mythical creatures in exquisite detail, harmoniously composing an intricate ensemble. Their bearded chins, spiked spines and fearsome claws menace the forces of evil.

By Indonesian artisan Wayan Rendah, this stunning wall mask depicts two faces. Hand-carved from hibiscus wood with an intricate natural grain, this mask depicts one face that smiles while another face opens its mouth in an expression of surprise. This piece of home decor can be displayed to feature either face.

According to Indonesian mythology, Barong is a lion-like creature that is believed to bring protection from evil. He is depicted here in this wood mask by Made Mulyani, hand-carved from acacia wood with a fierce, fanged face and intricate decorations painted gold.

Crafted from wood and painted by hand with colorful floral motifs, this traditional retablo from Peru is created by Julio Gallardo. Opening with brass hinges, the doors reveal an intricate composition that is diligently crafted from handmade ceramic. Two calavera skeletons join together in holy matrimony in a graveyard. A sign above the duo reads "'Til Death Do Us Part" in Spanish, while a nearby tombstone reads Hasta la muerte contigo (With you until death).