original chess set

Ana Maria Gonzalez in Mexico creates this fun jewelry chest, employing the decoupage technique. A skeletal bride and groom are depicted on the top and front of the pinewood box, in homage to José Guadalupe Posada's La Calavera Catrina. The small chest features two drawers for storing small treasures.

The original "La Calavera Catrina" was a zinc etching created by the artist José Guadalupe Posada in Mexico around 1910. Posada created the character, a female skeleton with an elegant hat, as a satirical portrait of Mexican natives who aspired to European style and denied their own heritage. The catrina has since become an emblem of Mexico's Day of the Dead celebration and a popular folk art subject.