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Signed Multicolored Wood Chihuahua Alebrije, 'Black Chihuahua'

Product ID: U65828

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Signed Multicolored Wood Chihuahua Alebrije, 'Black Chihuahua'

Delivery Estimate

This item is available for pre-order and will ship within 2 to 8 weeks. Learn More

Available in 2 to 8 weeks. Learn More

Details

This delightful alebrije sculpture is the original creation of Mexico's Pablo and Lucy Mendez. The perky chihuahua is carved by hand from copal wood before being painted in meticulous detail. Suns, stars, spirals and fretwork in an array of colors cover the sculpture.

The folk art tradition of alebrijes dates back to the 1930's in Mexico City. A man named Pedro Linares was taken ill, and in his fevered dreams he saw a strange land populated with curious creatures--a donkey with wings, a rooster with bull's horns, and a lion with the head of a dog. The beasts all ran at him, shouting "alebrije! alebrije!". Upon his recovery, Linares began recreating the fantastical creatures he had seen in his dream. The art form gained popularity, and alebrijes are now made of wood as well as papier mache.

Made in Mexico

  • Copal wood
  • Signed by the artist
  • Hand-crafted item -- color, size and/or motif may vary slightly
  • Free Gift Wrap? Yes
  • Premium Gift Wrap? Yes
  • 60 grams
  • 0.1 lbs
  • 11 cm H x 10 cm W x 4 cm D
  • 4.3" H x 3.9" W x 1.6" D
View in metric units View in US/English units

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Pablo and Lucy Mendez

Meet the Artist

Artfully crafted by Pablo and Lucy Mendez from Mexico.

 

Meet the Artist

Pablo and Lucy Mendez

Pablo and Lucy Mendez

"What we enjoy the most is how real and mythical animal shapes can emerge from a simple branch. They can be so colorful and original that they appear to have had a life on another planet."

Latest Update "We are a young married couple who inherited the knowledge of carving and painting copal wood alebrijes.... Latest Update

"We are a young married couple who inherited the knowledge of carving and painting copal wood alebrijes. We have gradually perfected our technique, which we have passed down to our children.

"We have been working for some years with this incredible technique that we learned. In our community in Oaxaca, copal carving is a tradition for families.

"We have several goals, one of which is to teach and share this beautiful art in our workshop. And it's how we learn more.

"You have allowed us to export our alebrijes to any part of the world, permitting us to concentrate on the quality and inspiration we give each piece. This has led us to hire family members for wood carving.

"We also have copal tree plantations that have allowed us to preserve this beautiful tree that has given us so much, and that was facing the possibility of extinction."

Original Artisan Story

"We are best friends as well as husband and wife. Together, we carve Oaxaca's traditional alebrijes, fanciful and fantastical creatures and images crafted from found wood and painted by hand in bright colors. We project creativity, innovation and quality through our work. We believe it's important to be kind, honest and responsible when working, and we seek to improve our efforts day by day.

"Crafts are a pillar for the economy of many families in our community. These workshops are made up of grandparents, parents and their children. In our case, this craft has been handed down from generation to generation. Our parents and uncles taught us and we are now teaching our children so that this art doesn't die out.

"Striking out on our own has been a bit difficult because we've just started from the ground up. Our desire to get ahead has motivated us to improve our alebrijes and we feel that competition is good.

"To learn this craft, you need to be very dedicated and patient. Our greatest challenge is innovating to create new designs. Our inspiration comes from everything that surrounds us, like nature and those moments in life that can express a feeling.

"We use natural branches of copal wood but sometimes work in willow, cedar and zompantle. I shape the creatures and images. We treat the wood and, when a piece contains imperfections, we make a sawdust paste to fill in the gaps. I do the carving, treat the wood and polish it. Lucy creates the designs and paints the motifs.

"What we enjoy the most is how real and mythical animal shapes can emerge from a simple branch. They can be so colorful and original that they appear to have had a life on another planet. It's wonderful to see so many people appreciating a finished piece and to observe joy and surprise on their faces. This is very satisfying for us.

"We'd like for our workshop to grow little by little and be able to offer jobs to other families in our community. We want our work to be seen in other countries so that everyone can be aware of the art in our town."

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Return instructions

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This item is available for backorder and will ship within 2 to 8 weeks. Artists love to get backorders. Placing a backorder ensures that the artisan will do their best to create and deliver your item to our local office for shipment.

Although we cannot guarantee availability, we do expect to be able to fill the order within the timeframe indicated. But sometimes life happens - special materials may not be immediately available to the artist, or there might be some other circumstance beyond our control that could delay the shipment.

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WOMEN S M L XL XXL
4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20 22
BUST 35 - 36 37 - 38 39 - 41 42 - 44 46 - 48
WAIST 27 - 28 29 - 30 31 - 33 34 - 36 38 - 40
HIPS 37 - 38 39 - 40 42 - 43 45 - 46 49 - 50
MEN S M L XL XXL
CHEST 36 - 38 39 - 41 42 - 44 46 - 48 50 - 52
WAIST 30 - 32 32 - 34 35 - 37 38 - 41 43 - 45
NECK 14 - 14.5 15 - 15.5 16 - 16.5 17 - 17.5 18 - 18.5
SLEEVE 32.5 33.5 34.5 35.5 36.5
FINDING YOUR SIZE

Take your measurements with the tape measure over your under garments. If your measurements fall between sizes you may prefer the next larger size. Inseam, skirt and dress lengths vary by style and will be listed in the item description. Our sweaters are knit in standard American sizes, however actual measurements vary by style.

BUST / CHEST

Measure around the fullest part of chest under the arms and over the shoulder blades keeping the tape measure level.

WAIST

Measure around the smallest part of the waist keeping the tape measure comfortably loose. Most garments use the low waist measurement noted below.

LOW WAIST

Measure around the body approximately 1.5" below the natural waist (above). This is the area where most pants and skirts actually fit.

HIPS

Standing with your heels together, measure around the fullest part of the body approx 7"-8" below the waist.

NECK

Measure around the base of the neck keeping the tape measure comfortably loose.

SLEEVE

Bend elbow slightly and starting at the center back of the neck, measure across the shoulder, to the elbow and down to the wrist.

INSEAM

Our standard inseam length for women is 32" and 34" for men; however inseam measurements will vary slightly by style.

 

Belts with buckles are measured in inches that correspond to a waist size however, most people do not wear belts on the waist, they wear them closer to the hips. A buckle belt measurement is take from the end of the "pin" of the buckle to the middle hole on the belt. Generally there are 5 holes for size adjustment, with a 1" space between each, so the middle hole will the be average size of the belt.

For at tie belt (no buckle) measure the belt portion end to end and half of the tie portion. This again is the medium size of the belt.

For a soft fabric tie belt it can be called "1 size fits most" and the entire length of the belt should be measured and listed.

See buckle/tie belt size standards below.

WOMEN S M L XL  
4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20 22
inches 26 - 30 28 - 32 31 - 35 34 - 38 38 - 42
cm 76 - 86 81.5 - 91.5 86.5 - 96.5 91.5 - 101.5 96.5 - 106.5

+/- tolerance: 0.5 inches or 1.25 cm

MEN S M L XL XXL
inches 30 - 34 32 - 36 35 - 39 39 - 43 43 - 47
cm 81.5 - 91.5 86.5 - 96.5 91.5 - 101.5 96.5 - 106.5 109 - 119

+/- tolerance: 0.5 inches or 1.25 cm

Sash tie length

Lay sash/tie out flat away from the garment and measure from end to end.

Belt with buckle

Measure from the end of the pin of the buckle (where it touches the buckle) to the middle hole.

Belt without buckle

Measure from the belt portion end to end and half of the tie portion. This is will give you the medium size of the belt.

Download our printable ring sizing chart to find the perfect fit!

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