wood hands

The Inca god Wiracocha stands proud in the firmament to crown a handsome jewelry chest. The original divinity of the people of Tiahuanaco, this god emerged from the waters of Lake Titicaca. He created the heavens, the earth, and the first generation of giants who inhabited the land in total darkness. Wiracocha is honored in the Inti Raymi, meaning "Festival of the Sun," in Cuzco, symbolizing the eternal consecration between the sun and his children — human beings.

Julio Sanchez crafts the box by hand to imitate a chest with six drawers and an upper compartment with a mirror. It closes with a lock and key. Each side features images of the tumi, a ceremonial blade used in ancient Peru for spiritual sacrifices, crowned with the effigy of a warrior.

Artisans from the Angel Cerón Artisan Association recreate a royal Maya mask adorned with an impressive headdress. The artisans craft the mask by hand from ceramic featuring a fearsome jaguar, or balam. A valiant Maya warrior and a feathered serpent complete the regal headdress.

Seated with legs crossed, a Maya bird man gestures with his hands as he speaks. Nicolas Chavez Sojuel works in fragrant cedar wood to depict an image from the archaeological site of Palenque. Dating from the 8th century, the beautiful necropolis was the westernmost point in the ancient Maya empire. The original bird man was sculpted of terracotta and painted in shades of blue. It was discovered in Tomb One and is on display in the site museum.

The headdress is detachable for shipping.

Working in seasoned sese wood, Christopher Nyasafo creates his own interpretation of the ancient Egyptian monarch, Tutankhamun. The Ghanaian artisan recreates the boy king's funerary mask, originally wrought of pure gold. Son of Akhenaton, Tutankhamun is perhaps the best known of Egypt's royalty because his treasure-filled tomb was found almost intact.